


Blessed

by Patrycja444d



Category: Johnny's Entertainment, KAT-TUN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, M/M, Mpreg, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-10
Updated: 2016-12-06
Packaged: 2018-07-14 07:47:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 31,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7160669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Patrycja444d/pseuds/Patrycja444d
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the divorce, Kuroki Meisa is taking care of her and Akanishi Jin’s daughter, Theia but suddenly the woman gets a chance to star in an American movie and decides to leave the child with Jin. Knowing that the ex-husband can be rather childish and, sometimes, irresponsible the woman wants to hire a babysitter. After a few failed interviews, she finds a perfect one but Jin doesn’t approve her choice because of a babysitter’s secret that his ex-wife seems to hide from him. Despite Jin’s inner uneasiness, he agrees with Meisa’s choice. The problem is: will he be able to actually accept the babysitter and the unbelievable secret that can shock you to the core?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

** Prologue **

  
A man clad in a plain dark jeans, a grey hoodie, a beanie and a pair of quite big sunglasses went inside a small café and looked around. The place was perfect, secured from prying eyes by being located in a back alley yet it was stylish and homy. The man was sure that no know will disturb him here; no paparazzi, no reporters and no screaming teenage girls. That’s what always frightened him the most, his crazy fans, Akanishi Jin fans.  
  
Jin sat at the table in the corner. The spot was great; he could see the entrance and people outside the café but no one from the outside could see him. He smiled satisfied with his choice and took off his sunglasses and a beanie. He was aware that people in the restaurant recognized him but there was no further reaction. That made the man even more happy, he didn’t need any new scandal at the moment.  
  
A waiter came to his table and Jin ordered two cups of coffee, a glass of orange juice and a piece of strawberry pie. When the man went to prepare the order a small bell above the door rang. Jin looked at the entrance and smiled widely while standing up. A high squeal startled the customers but after seeing a source of it, they could only smile at the view. A small, 3 year old girl, rushed towards Jin happily.  
  
“Papa!” The girl jumped into her father’s arms. Jin lifted his daughter and gave her a kiss on the cheek. The girl giggled and hugged him tightly.  
  
“Hi, sweetheart. Did you have fun with mom?”  
  
“Un! Theia had lots of fun!”  
  
“That’s good.” Jin put the girl on the chair next to him. “You like strawberries, right?”  
  
“Hai! Theia loves them!”  
  
“Then wait a little and waiter-san will bring us a strawberry pie. Here’s a paper and crayons. Why don’t you draw something?” Jin said while giving the items to his precious girl.  
  
“Yay!”  
  
The girl grinned widely and started drawing. Meanwhile Jin greeted the girl’s mother with a small smile and a short nod. The woman sat down on a chair on the other side of the table and took off her sunglasses, putting it next to Akanishi’s. The two adults were looking at each other for a minute. Jin fidgeted slightly under Kuroki Meisa’s serious expression and averted his gaze towards his daughter’s drawing. The woman sighed.  
  
“Listen, Jin-kun.” The man looked at her. “I got a role in a new movie. Unfortunately I can’t bring Theia with me and I don’t want to bother our parents. I know that you have your own work but I think it would be good if she could spend at least some time with you.”  
  
“I would love to take care of Theia for now but what about the time when I’m working? I can’t leave her alone in the house.”  
  
“I know but it’s still better if she has at least one parent at her side,” the woman said. “Don’t worry though, I thought about it. I found a babysitter for Theia.”  
  
“Oh…”  
  
The waiter came with two coffee’s and a piece of cake. When the small girl saw the sweet treat she immediately forgot about her drawing and bounced happily in her chair. The parents chuckled before giving their little daughter a spoon. They watched as the girl eats joyously the strawberry pie, from time to time cleaning up her red face.  
  
“So… about the babysitter?” Jin asked after a while.  
  
“Ah, yeah. I checked a lot of people but no one seemed good enough. Actually, I even considered to find a kindergarten that would take Theia in.”  
  
“But you said you’d found a babysitter after all.” Jin furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.  
  
“Yes and I’m really happy I did. He seems like a perfect choice. He…”  
  
“Wait a minute! He?!” Jin’s eyes widened.  
  
“Yes, Jin-kun, it’s a ‘he’. But you don’t need to worry. He has a lot of experience with children.”  
  
“But why a _guy_! I mean… aren’t women like, more appropriate? Mother’s instinct and such?”  
  
“Maybe but… Okay, let me tell you everything. It was a week ago…”  


* * *

  
# One week earlier #

Meisa sat on the couch heavily and hid her face behind her palms. She was tired, after checking more than twenty babysitters, the woman lost almost all hope – she would never find someone good enough to take care of her sweet, little daughter. When the doorbell rang again, Meisa had a huge urge to just ignore it but the well-being of Theia was more important. The woman stood up from her place and went to the door. She couldn’t hide her surprise at the sight of a young man.  
  
“How can I help you?” she asked nicely, thinking that the black-haired man just made a mistake.  
  
“Good morning, um, Kuroki-san? I’m here because of the job advertisement,” the man answered nervously but politely, bowing lowly.  
  
“Oh… Um… Are you sure you get it right?”  
  
“…You’re not looking for a babysitter, then?” the guy asked uncertainly scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.  
  
“Ah, yes but… I’m sorry. Please, come in.” Meisa invited him in, the man hesitated a little but followed the woman inside. “I’m surprised, though. It’s rare to see a man who wants to be a babysitter.” She smiled trying to encourage the nervous guy.  
  
“I think I understand what you mean. I just like taking care of kids.” The man smiled lightly and sat on the place pointed by Meisa.  
  
“Good to hear that. What’s your name?”  
  
“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m Kamenashi Kazuya.” The man bowed deeply again.  
  
“Okay, Kamenashi-san... May I know how old are you? You look rather young.”  
  
“I’m 23.”  
  
“Really? I thought you’re less than 20,” Meisa looked at Kamenashi with big eyes.  
  
“I get that a lot.” The black-haired man chuckled.  
  
“Well, anyway you said that you like looking after children. Why didn’t you became a teacher or a worker of an orphanage? Isn’t it a more stable job than being a babysitter? Most babysitters are teenage girls and students after all.”  
  
“Um… unfortunately, some life circumstances happened and after high-school graduation I started working.”  
  
“What kind of circumstances?” Meisa asked narrowing slightly her eyes in curiosity.  
  
The man smiled tenderly looking at the floor. The woman saw that he was deep in his thoughts for a while before he looked at her again, still with the same smile plastered to his face. Somehow, Meisa knew that whatever the black-haired man will tell her, she will believe him. There was just something in his eyes that showed all the honesty and seriousness the man had. Maybe in any other cases Meisa would be shocked by Kamenashi’s words but with the way the man spoke and the look in his eyes, she only could think about one thing.  
  
The one that will take care of Theia, the one she was looking for, the perfect babysitter.  
  
**It's him.**

 

* * *

  
“Sooo…. What were those ‘life circumstances’ the guy was talking about?” Jin asked after listening to the mother of his child.  
  
“Sorry, Jin-kun, but I won’t tell you.” Meisa sipped calmly on her coffee.  
  
“Huh?! Why not? I’m Theia’s parent as well, I should know the guy that will be taking care of her!”  
  
“Look, I know Kamenashi-san’s story and I know he’s perfect for our girl. What had happened to him doesn’t really matter though I won’t say that it didn’t help with my decision. The matter is rather… complicated and… special.”  
  
“I don’t like the sound of it,” Jin said unconvinced.  
  
“Will it ease your mind if I tell you that he’s been taking care of kids for five years now?” Akanishi crossed his arms but the information helped, even if just a little bit.  
  
“I don’t know Meisa. If he’s so good, why was he jobless until now?”  
  
“Well… he actually had a stable job but had to change his workplace recently. One of the reasons was money. Besides that he said that his working hours were supposed to change and he couldn’t afford working at those times.”  
  
“So you pitied him and gave him the job?” Jin raised one eyebrow, dissatisfied.  
  
“No! Of course not, Jin.” Meisa sighed. “Listen. Just give him a chance, okay? If there will be something wrong, just call me and I will fire him. Is that okay with you?”  
  
“…Fine,” the man grumbled.  
  
“But, please, Jin-kun, it’s better to be a good reason and not something like ‘he left the light turned on’ or ‘he put Theia to sleep a minute later than he should have’.”  
  
The woman looked at her ex-husband meaningfully and Jin wanted to protest but changed his mind watching how Meisa’s eyes narrowed dangerously. The man gulped and nodded agreeing to the conditions. He didn’t like the idea of having _a man_ taking care of his little daughter but Meisa always was more responsible than him so he believed her judgment. He just couldn’t imagine how there could exist in the world something like ‘male babysitter’ but if the man was as good as his ex-wife made him to be, Jin was going to step back and just let the time show him the whole truth.  
  
_‘Kamenashi Kazuya, better be as good as Meisa thinks you are or else_ _I promise you,_ _one wrong move and I will make sure you won’t find a job in this country ever again.’_ Jin thought while looking outside the window with a frown and sipping on his, already cold, coffee…


	2. Teary Goodbyes

  **Chapter 1: Teary Goodbyes **

  
On the first floor of the mansion, in the middle sized room with walls painted in light pink, stood a man with brown, rather fluffy hair. With dissatisfaction written all over his handsome face, he watched as his ex-wife crouching in front of his sweet little daughter, was tying together laces of the cute pink shoes that he bought for his girl just three weeks ago. Yes, the man was no other but Akanishi Jin, a famous music producer, a songwriter and an occasional singer and the woman who currently stood up from her position, was Kuroki Meisa, an actress and a model, and Jin’s ex-wife. Despite the fact they had divorced a few months before, they were on good terms with each other, both knowing that it was all for the best.  
  
They’ve never really loved each other, at least not in the romantic way, it was more of a friendship-sibling kind of love, but because of one drunken night, they had decided to get married. All for the cute little girl called Theia, their small bundle of love. They didn’t regret having her but did regret rushing things and trying to build a happy family when it wasn’t possible. It took them more than two years to realize that they won’t be happy as long as they’re married. The decision was mutual and let them stay friends. They were worried how Theia would take it but surprisingly the girl was still smiling and laughing as always.  
  
Meisa stepped in front of the displeased man and crossed her arms. They were waiting for a new babysitter and while the woman was rather happy with her choice of a person that was supposed to take care of Theia, Jin wasn’t hiding his uneasiness. She couldn’t blame him really; having a man as a babysitter was quite disturbing but Jin agreed to give the man a chance.  
  
“Stop scowling, Jin-kun. You’ve agreed to it.”  
  
“Like you gave me a choice. You just came and said you found a _guy_ to babysit our little girl,” the man replied and Meisa sighed.  
  
“I understand it’s a little… unconventional but Kamenashi-san seemed to be really good with children. I wouldn’t hire him if he wasn’t and you know that. Just try to act civil with him. If he turns out to not be good enough, we can always fire him.”  
  
Meisa smiled encouragingly and Jin returned the smile reluctantly. At that moment, the doorbell rang and Meisa exited the room to open the door. Jin watched her for a moment until the woman disappeared from his view, before he quickly approached his daughter and kneeled in front of her. He had a plan and he needed his daughter to be a part of it.  
  
Downstairs Meisa opened the front door and greeted the man. Kamenashi Kazuya looked young for his age. He was 23 but with his small build and smooth, almost white skin that contrasted with his dark hair he could be easily taken for a high school student. The man greeted her back with a smile and the woman led him to the living room. Passing the staircase, she called for her ex-husband and her daughter.  
  
Jin came down with Theia in his arms. He put the girl down after giving her a small kiss on the cheek and walked into the room. He scanned the young man from head to toes with his eyes before he took his place next to Meisa.  
  
“Jin-kun, this is Kamenashi Kazuya, Theia’s new babysitter.”  
  
“Nice to meet you, Akanishi-san. I’m Kamenashi Kazuya and I’m going to take care of your daughter while you’re at work from now on.” Kame bowed politely and Jin hummed in return.  
  
“Akanishi Jin. I hope you’re as good as I’ve heard you are. This is Theia, our daughter.” Jin introduced his little girl.  
  
“Good morning, mister.” The girl smiled widely showing her teeth.  
  
“Hello, Theia-chan. I’m Kamenashi Kazuya but you can call me Kame, I’m going to play with you when your dad will be at work. How old are you?”  
  
“Theia’s three!” The girl showed him three fingers.  
  
“Then Theia-chan’s a big girl, ne?” Theia eagerly nodded and Kazuya smiled at her.  
  
“Hai, Theia’s a big girl!” Then, like remembering something, she pouted and crossed her arms. “Theia’s a big girl so Theia doesn’t need a sitter!” she stomped her foot while Kame’s eyes widened. Meisa looked equally shocked seeing her, normally good, daughter’s behaviour. “Theia can take care of herself! Mommy, Theia doesn’t want a sitter, papa can take care of Theia better than any sitter!” Then the girl hugged her father’s legs.  
  
“Theia, we talked about it. Papa’s busy, he can’t be with you all the time.” Meisa kneeled next to her daughter and tried to make her listen to her.  
  
“No! Theia doesn’t want a sitter. Papa can work at home and play with Theia when he wants to. Papa’s a better sitter. Papa will give Theia cookies if she’s a good girl.”  
  
The girl smiled and Meisa furrowed her eyebrows; something was wrong. She looked shortly at the new babysitter; the man was rather confused and tensed. She also gazed at her ex-husband. The man seemed to be concerned as well but a small twitch of his lips betrayed him; he had to do something that Theia was behaving that way.  
  
“Theia-chan, why papa will give you cookies?”  
  
“Papa said that if Theia makes a new sitter go away, Theia gets lots of cookies and ice-cream,” the girl said proudly.  
  
Both, Kazuya and Meisa, were shocked. Jin’s eyes widened as well; he didn’t expect that his little girl will tell the whole truth right away. Meisa glared at her ex-husband before she glanced at the young man standing next to the couch. She could see a hurt but also slightly annoyed expression on the man’s face. She was embarrassed; how Jin could do something like that?! Using your own daughter! That was not only childish but also unethical and bad.  
  
“Theia, you can’t do something like that. You were rude to Kamenashi-san. That’s not how a good girl behaves. I’m disappointed in you. If Theia was a big girl, she wouldn’t do something like that.”  
  
The girl’s smile faded and her eyes got wet, she bit on her lips and tears slowly made their way on her chubby pinkish cheeks. She started crying and hug her mom tightly. The girl wasn’t aware she did something wrong until Meisa explained it to her. Theia was a rather obedient girl, sensitive and nice. She hadn’t been scolded before so the impact of her mother’s words made her cry.  
  
“It’s okay. It was papa’s fault. He should know not to make Theia be a bad girl. I’m not angry at you but you need to apologize to Kamenashi-san.” The girl hiccupped and walked to the man with her head hanging low.  
  
“Theia’s sorry. Theia shouldn’t be mean to Kame-san. Theia doesn’t want to be disliked by Kame-san. Theia’s sorry.” Theia was rubbing her tears away with her small fists but since she was still crying it wasn’t an easy task. Kame kneeled in front of her so she could see him clearly and smiled.  
  
“Hey, it’s okay. I know Theia-chan didn’t want to be mean. It’s okay, I’m not mad. Theia-chan shouldn’t cry, she’s a big girl, ne?” The girl looked at him with her big puppy eyes. Kame patted her head before he took out a tissue to gently weep the tears away. “Way better, Theia-chan’s pretty when she smiles, so… will you smile for me now?” Kame spoke softly trying to comfort the little girl. Theia looked at him, blinked and smiled lightly while her eyes were still shining from unshed tears. “All better now, right?”  
  
“Un!” The girl nodded and Kame smiled back, this time more widely. “Kazu-nii is pretty too while smiling!”  
  
The girl announced and Kame blinked in surprise when two small arms enveloped his neck in a hug. He wasn’t sure if he was more surprised with the sudden hug or how quick the girl change from calling him ‘Kame-san’ to ‘Kazu-nii’. He didn’t mind she called him that way, it only meant that she warmed up to him. Nevertheless, Kazuya’s cheeks got a little pink at the girl’s words. It’s not like he wasn’t called ‘pretty’ before but he knew that children are way more honest than adults; not to mention that most of those adults were taking him for a girl while Theia knew he was a man.  
  
“Kamenashi-san, would you mind staying with Theia for a minute? I need to talk to my ex-husband for a moment.”  
  
Kazuya nodded and Meisa grabbed Jin by the ear and forcefully pulled him upstairs to the bedroom. She closed the door behind them and turned around to face the man. When Jin saw the woman’s expression, he gulped and made a step back. Meisa was furious. If the gaze could kill, he would be dead already and lying two meters under the ground. The woman stepped closer and Jin was almost one hundred percent sure she will slap him. Fortunately for him, she didn’t.  
  
“Akanishi Jin! What were you thinking?! I know you don’t like the idea of Kamenashi-san but using your own daughter to get rid of him?! Are you aware of what you did?! Because of you Theia acted rude and was lying! You should be ashamed of yourself, not only you made Theia cry but you also embarrassed me in front of Kamenashi-san!”  
  
“Calm down. I know and I’m sorry, I didn’t think tha-“  
  
“Exactly! You never think!” Meisa sighed heavily.  
  
“Listen, Meisa. I’m really sorry for making Theia cry. I know it was a bad thing to do and that’s why I promise you that from now on I will never use Theia again.” Meisa looked at the man.  
  
“Are you serious? Because if I see something like that again…” Meisa didn’t need to end the sentence, Jin knew the consequences.  
  
“I’m as serious as I can get. I promise you, no more making Theia cry because of my stupidity.” The man said with a stony face. Meisa glared at him in silence before sighing again and exiting the room. She didn’t see how her ex-husband’s lips curved upward into a smirk. “But it doesn’t mean I won’t try to get rid of Kamenashi with my own hands.”  
  
The man followed after his ex-wife. What he saw downstairs made his blood boil. Kamenashi was carrying his little daughter in his arms and the girl looked way too happy because of it. Jin was the father and he should carry Theia, not some stranger! The man gritted his teeth then took a calming breath and came closer.  
  
Kame looked at the man warily. He was more than aware that Akanishi didn’t like him and Kazuya had to tell that he didn’t like Jin as well, not after he made his own daughter cry. Kazuya loved children and cared for them very much so he couldn’t take it when someone hurt them, no matter if it was a family member or a plain stranger. Actually, a former hurting a kid was even worse than the later.  
  
“Kamenashi-san, I’m sorry for my behavior.” Jin addressed the younger man before turning to his daughter. “Theia, papa’s sorry. Papa shouldn’t make Theia do something like that. Papa is very stupid. Will Theia forgive papa?” The girl smiled widely at the sight of her papa’s puppy eyes.  
  
“Un! Theia forgives papa. Theia loves papa even if papa’s a mean baka.” Meisa giggled behind Jin’s back, Kame smiled in amusement while Jin’s eyes widened and blushed lightly. He cleared his throat and tried to take Theia from Kame’s arms but the girl refused.  
  
“No, Theia wants Kazu-nii to carry her. Kazu-nii is so warm~”  
  
The girl nuzzled her cheek into Kazuya’s chest while her small arms tightened around the man’s neck stubbornly. The adults blinked in confusion but seeing how the girl yawned widely a few seconds later, everything was clear. Theia was really sleepy and apparently Kame’s arms and chest were considered a good place to fall asleep. Not to mention the warmth that made Theia cling to the man in the first place.  
  
It took only a moment for the girl to completely doze off. Since none of the adults wanted to wake her up, Meisa decided it’s the best time to show Kame around the house. Of course, first the two parents showed him Theia’s room. The man carefully put the girl down and tucked the comforter around her small body. Jin grabbed a teddy bear from the shelf and put it next to his daughter kissing her forehead to wish her good dreams. Meisa also kissed her little girl before the three adults came out of the room.  
  
For the next hour or two, Meisa and Jin were showing Kame around while explaining everything to him. They told him Theia’s schedule for the week, Theia’s likes and dislikes, favorite games and activities, and what she is supposed and not supposed to do. By the end, Kazuya knew everything he needed to know about the place and about the little girl. He bid his goodbye and promised to come back the next day at seven to take care of Theia while Jin will take his ex-wife to the airport and then go to work.

  
* * *

  
Kame came to Akanishi’s residence punctually. This time the front door were opened by Akanishi’s maid. Kazuya bowed to the woman and followed her to the dining room where Jin, Meisa and Theia were having their breakfast. Kame stepped inside the room and greeted the family. From the moment he saw little Theia, he knew she was aware that her mommy was going to leave soon. She wasn’t really eating, only stirring in her bowl with a spoon that ended up back in the bowl before she even took it fully into her mouth. She wasn’t smiling and her eyes were shining sadly.  
  
Kazuya felt a pang in his heart. He pitied the small child, having to separate with one of her parents for maybe more than half a year. In other circumstances he would be angry at such parent that would leave their baby for such a long time but Meisa looked as crestfallen as her daughter. And thanks to the woman’s job, he got himself a job that he needed very much.  
  
After breakfast, Jin helped Meisa to bring her luggage down and put it inside the car. Meanwhile Meisa picked up her sweet little girl and hugged her tightly. At the same moment, Theia’s sobs reached everyone and her small body started trembling. Her arms tightened around her mother’s neck and soon soft sobs turned into a loud wail. All adults felt their hearts break at the sight of a crying child but they knew there’s nothing much they can do at the moment. Meisa tried to be strong but a few tears escaped her eyes anyway.  
  
Kazuya disappeared in a kitchen while Jin came closer to his ex-wife and his baby girl to try and gently pray the child away from the mother but every time his hand touched his little princess, the girl wailed louder and more desperately clung to her mother. They didn’t know what to do, they tried to soothe Theia with gentle words but the girl was stubbornly holding Meisa by the neck. They were getting worried. The girl’s face was really red and wet from tears.  
  
Kame walked back into the room and approached the helpless parents. He had a soft towel put on his left shoulder while his left hand held a bottle of water. The adults watched as he stopped next to Meisa’s arm and delicately patted Theia’s head. At first the girl’s cry grew louder but a moment later it slowly softened and the girl looked at the man still sobbing. Kame smiled at her sadly.  
  
“You need to let your mama go now,” he said softly still caressing the girl’s hair.  
  
“No! Theia wants mommy to stay!” the girl shouted in a breaking voice and hid her face in her mother’s shoulder.  
  
“Theia-chan, your mom needs to go to work now but she will come back before you know it.”  
  
“But why mommy wants to leave Theia? Theia’s a good girl, why mommy doesn’t want Theia anymore? Does mommy not love Theia anymore?” The parents seemed quite shocked with their daughter’s words but Kazuya expected something like that.  
  
“Theia-chan, look at me,” Kazuya said gently and waited for the girl to obey his words. “Your mom loves you very, very much and she doesn’t want to leave you but she has to. I know you want her to stay with you but she can’t. But your papa stays with you, doesn’t he? You can play with him every day. And I’m going to come and play with you as well. You won’t even know when your mom will come back with cute presents for Theia-chan.”  
  
“Presents?” The girl asked uncertain and looked at her mother’s face. Meisa only smiled and let Kame continue.  
  
“Yes, she will come back with cute pink dresses for Theia-chan to wear and lots of dolls and plushy animals.” Kazuya smiled and Theia’s lips moved slightly upward. “And if you’re going to miss your mommy so much, you can call her anytime you want to, right?”  
  
“Mommy, is it true? Can Theia call you anytime she wants to?” She looked up hopefully.  
  
“Of course, Theia can call mommy if she misses her.”  
  
Meisa answered with a smile and rubbed their noses together. The girl giggled lightly at the tickling gesture. She hugged her daughter again before passing her over to Kame who gently wiped away the tears with a towel and give the girl a bottle that she sucked on immediately. After shedding so many tears Theia was very thirsty and dehydrated. Kazuya rubbed her back gently meanwhile to stop the remaining sobs from escaping the girl’s lips.  
  
Meisa looked thankfully at the man who nodded with a smile in return. Jin watched the whole scene in concern and jealousy. He couldn’t even calm down his own baby while some stranger did it perfectly. He closed his fists tightly but unclenched them a second later. He knew it was not the time to get angry. His girl seemed to understand the situation and that was important.  
  
Theia was sleepily looking at her mom, refusing to close her eyes in fear her mother would disappear. Meisa kissed the girl’s forehead and thanked Kame for calming the little girl. She had no doubts that she leaves Theia in good hands. With tears in her eyes she entered Jin’s car along with Jin. With a heavy heart she watched as her sweet girl hugged Kame’s neck tightly and fell asleep in the man’s arms while Jin slowly pulled the car away from the pavement and drove to the airport.

  
* * *

  
The ride was silent. Jin was trying to calm down his temper while Meisa thought about Theia. She was happy that the girl liked her new babysitter. Kame was really gentle with the girl and very patient, he certainly knew how to take care of children so Meisa wasn’t worried about him. But she was worried about her ex-husband. Jin was short-tempered and rarely thought before doing something. Most of his plans were stupid and annoying, and knowing how much Jin disliked Kame, she was sure he will try to pull off something on the younger man.  
  
At the airport Meisa decided to talk to Jin once more. It wouldn’t hurt and maybe she would be able to made the man listen to her and stop him from doing something that might turn out badly for all of them.  
  
“Jin-kun, I gave Kamenashi-san my number so it would be better for you if I don’t hear any complaints from him. Are we clear?” The man nodded his head with a gloomy face.  
  
“Don’t worry, I promised you not to include Theia in my plans, didn’t I?” The woman crossed her arms.  
  
“You did but I can’t stop worrying. I know you Jin, you won’t give up easily. After all, Theia got her stubbornness from you.”  
  
“You say it like it is a bad thing.”  
  
“Sometimes, it is a bad thing. Thankfully she inherited some of the good points as well.”  
  
“And that would be?” Jin raised an eyebrow.  
  
“Well… she’s as cute as you when you want something.” She teased the man.  
  
“Ha ha, very funny.” Nonetheless Jin smiled.  
  
“Please, don’t act on a whim. If you really see that Kamenashi-san isn’t good for Theia, call me but don’t try to sabotage his work.”  
  
“Fine, I won’t but one mistake and he’s fired. Deal?”  
  
“…Fine.”  
  
Meisa agreed reluctantly and the two friends hugged each other. Maybe they were a divorced couple but their friendship stayed strong. They supported each other and helped when it was a needed. There were also times when Jin needed to borrow Meisa his shoulder to cry on, just like now, when the woman’s suppressed tears finally escaped her eyes.  
  
She sobbed quietly while clenching her ex-husband’s shirt. Jin was rubbing her back soothingly and waiting patiently for her to stop crying. He didn’t like when she was upset and sad, it was breaking his heart almost as much as the sight of his own daughter’s hard wails. Meisa was important to him, not only as a friend but also as a part of his family.  
  
A few minutes later, the cry turned into soft sobs and slight sniffling. Jin took out a handkerchief and gave it to the woman. They smiled at each other sadly before Meisa bid her goodbye and went away. Jin stood in his spot until the woman disappeared from his sight before he turned around on his heels and walked towards his car parked outside the airport.

  
* * *

  
When Kazuya lost the sight of the car, he looked down at the sleeping child. He moved some stray strands of hair away from the girl’s face and walked back into the mansion, and into Theia’s bedroom. He put the child down but had problems to move her small hands away. The girl was holding him tightly in her sleep afraid he would let go of her. He could understand that; her mother just left so any type of physical contact assured the poor child that everything’s okay.  
  
Kame gently wriggled out of Theia’s hold and replaced himself with a teddy bear that the girl was so fond of. Kazuya smiled sadly and tucked the girl in. He stood up and slowly, without making too much noise, exited the room closing the door softly. He wanted to go back down but was startled when a figure of a woman appeared suddenly behind him.  
  
“I’m sorry, Kamenashi-san.”  
  
“No, it’s okay, you just surprised me…”  
  
“Nakagawa Chinami.”  
  
“…Nakagawa-san. Is there something…?” Kazuya was still a little surprised with how quiet she was able to walk.  
  
“Ah, yes. Follow me, please.” They came into the bathroom and the woman took back a towel that Kazuya used to dry Theia’s tears, and put it in a bin. She smiled at the man and brought him back to the kitchen gesturing for him to sit down on one of the stools around the table. “When Kuroki-san said she hired a man to take care of Theia-chan, I was really surprised at first and probably as skeptical as Akanishi-san. But now I’m happy that Kuroki-san chose you. Theia-chan was always a nice and very obedient child but she is very close with her mother. Kids her age are very sensitive and being separated from her mom must be a shock to the poor child.”  
  
“That’s true. Children think simpler than adults so they can’t understand everything. They’re smart but for them white is white and black is black while for adults everything is grey. They’re more honest with their feelings.” Kame said softly.  
  
“Hm… that’s something wise to say. In normal circumstances any child whose mother’s going away would cry for days and probably think that they’re not loved.” The woman hummed. “I think that Theia needs someone like you around. Thanks to you she was able to understand the situation, even if not to the fullest, she still knows her mom’s going to come back to her and that’s important.” Kame nodded but at the same time looked troubled.  
  
“I’m happy that you think that way, Nakagawa-san but Akanishi-san seems to not agree with you.”  
  
“Don’t worry about him.” The woman waved her hand in a belittling gesture. “Akanishi-san is just worried about his daughter. He will come around eventually. But I should warn you; he’s _really_ stubborn and it’s hard to change his mind. Unfortunately for everyone, he’s hotheaded, he rarely thinks about consequences of his actions. Well, he does it mostly because he cares about his friends and family.”  
  
“I will have hard time dealing with him, I guess. Good that I’m stubborn as well.” Kazuya sighed and the woman laughed.  
  
“Is that so? Good for you then. To make it easier for you, let me tell you; his plans are pretty much childish most of the time and since he isn’t the smartest crayon in the box, I think you will be able to beat him in his own game.” Kazuya chuckled.  
  
“I’m surprised that you ‘betray’ your employer like that.” Kame smirked while the woman added with a wide smile.  
  
“And what? Will you tell on me?” They both laughed heartily. After their laughter died down, Kame took the sip of his tea while the woman added. “Akanishi-san should be home soon. I think he will spend the weekend home with Theia-chan so I will see you on Monday.”  
  
“I guess so.” The man shrugged and put his cup into the sink.  
  
“Oh, I would forget. Besides me there’s one more maid working in the mansion.”  
  
“Really? I haven’t seen anyone else.”  
  
“She comes in the afternoon. She’s studying at the local university so she asked for an afternoon shift. I’m really glad she did, I can spend some more time with my husband.”  
  
“He must be a very lucky man. You’re making a delicious tea, Nakagawa-san.” Kame smiled and the woman laughed again.  
  
“You know how to compliment a woman. Anyway, I cook for Akanishi-san and make sure that Theia-chan will eat something other than pizza every single day. Akanishi-san is a disaster in the kitchen. He can’t cook to save his life.”  
  
“Really?” The woman nodded. “And what with the other maid? What is she doing?”  
  
“She cleans the rooms upstairs and makes the laundry. Since I don’t have much to do between meals, I decided to take care of the ground floor.”  
  
“That seems reasonable.” Kazuya agreed.  
  
“Talking about cleaning, I need to clean the dining room. You should wait in the living room. Akanishi-san should be here any minute now.”  
  
Kame thanked for the tea and followed Nakagawa-san’s advice. He felt awkward sitting alone in the huge room. He was here to work and yet he just sat on the comfortable sofa in the middle of the room. Feeling too anxious to stay in one place Kame started to wander around the room. Despite it being called a living room, the place was rather empty and cold. There was only an elegant fireplace, an old bookshelf and a generously filled liquor cabinet. Kame wondered if Akanishi-san was a stingy man as all of the bottles seemed to be full and untouched.  
  
Kazuya stopped in front of the bookshelf and looked at the volumes standing on it. He didn’t recognized many titles, most of the books being written in English or Spanish. He pulled one book that was certainly Japanese and looked at the title. If he read it correctly, the book was about economics and business in music industry. It wasn’t surprising but the more Kame wandered around the room, the more he thought it was a place to entertain business partners rather than to actually relax and rest.  
  
Kazuya’s musing was broken by the click of the front door. He immediately put the book back on the shelf and walked closer to the couch. It’d better if Akanishi-san hadn’t seen him near his stuff, especially the liquor cabinet. Kazuya wouldn’t touch the other man’s things but with Akanishi being hostile towards him, it was better to avoid unnecessary problems.  
  
Theia’s father entered the room and stopped. He looked at Kame who bowed lightly in a greeting. He glared at the younger man who gulped invisibly and stepped closer standing in front of the babysitter.  
  
“Thank you for taking care of Theia. I will take care of her this weekend. She needs his parent’s company,” The man said coldly.  
  
“Of course. I will come back on Monday. Goodbye, Akanishi-san.”  
  
Kazuya quickly grabbed his things, bowed to his employer and exited the room. Akanishi followed him out of the mansion and watched the younger walk away. When Kazuya was almost out of Jin’s property, the older man stopped him.  
  
“Kamenashi.” Kazuya looked back at the man who now stood just two meters away from him. “I’m sure you know already that I don’t like the idea of _you_ taking care of _my_ daughter. If I see you do or say something that I don’t like you can say ‘bye-bye’ to your job. Are we clear?”  
  
“Yes, very clear.” Kame answered dryly.  
  
“Good. You can go now but remember, I’m having my eyes on you.” Jin narrowed his eyes dangerously before he turned around and walked back into his mansion.  
  
“What a rude guy…”  
  
Kazuya muttered unhappily and exited Akanishi’s property. He sighed heavily knowing perfectly well that his employer will do everything to make Meisa fire him. The maid made it obvious that Jin may try to sabotage him on every occasion possible.  
  
Kame stopped in his tracks when he felt a weird shiver running down his spine. He looked around to checthk his surroundings but he couldn’t see anything suspicious. He shrugged his shoulders, blaming the wind and resumed his walking. What he didn’t know was that a certain Akanishi Jin watched him intensely from his window, his mind coming up with plans how to get rid of the male babysitter as soon as possible.


	3. Fire or Quit

  **C hapter** **2: Fire or Quit**

  
Despite the fact that Akanishi was always glaring evilly at Kamenashi every time the younger man was in his sight, Kazuya’s work was going smoothly. Theia was a lovely girl and, though she was a little spoilt, Kame didn’t have many problems with her. She listened to him, ate all her vegetables and went to sleep without grimacing. Kazuya was surprised at how obedient she was but he had a feeling that Theia’s daily phone calls to her mother might have something to do with such good behavior of the small girl. Anyways, Kame couldn’t complain.  
  
Jin on the other hand was getting more and more frustrated every day. He couldn’t find a single flaw that would let him kick out Kamenashi on the spot. The guy was annoyingly good. Akanishi saw him only in the morning when he needed to go to work and in the afternoon after coming back home, nevertheless Theia never complained or said anything that would paint the babysitter in the bad light. On the contrary, she seemed to like the man very much, always bubbling about him during dinner.  
  
Jin had enough. He wanted the guy out of his house and out of his daughter's life but with the guy playing a perfect babysitter, the father couldn’t do anything. He needed a plan and he needed to hurry; he couldn’t let his daughter be around the man any longer! It didn’t take him long to think of a good way to get rid of the man but he needed to be home if he wanted to try it. Thankfully for Jin, and unfortunately for Kazuya, the opportunity came on Sunday evening in the form of a simple phone call.  
  
“Akanishi, speaking.” Jin answered the ringing machine.  
  
“It’s Maruyama. I am very sorry for bothering you on your day off and at this hour, Akanishi-san.”  
  
“Don’t worry about it. What is it?” Jin asked aware that it had to be important if his assistant was contacting him now and not waited till tomorrow.  
  
“We’ve got a call from Ogawa-san from technical department. There was a sudden breakdown of electricity in the middle of checking consoles in record studios. Two of our rooms can’t be used because of a blowout.” Jin closed his eyes and rubbed them tiredly with his fingers.  
  
“When are they going to repair them?”  
  
“Ogawa-san says it may take two weeks. What should we do, Akanishi-san?”  
  
“We still have a lot of work to do but without studios…” Jin thought for a while. “Tell me, did someone get hurt during the blowout?”  
  
“No, sir, everyone’s fine.”  
  
“Good. Until technical staff fixes the studios we need to reschedule the use of the rest of our rooms.”  
  
“Of course, sir, I’m on it.”  
  
“And add my studio to the list as well.”  
  
“Eh?” The assistant was surprised; Akanishi rarely let someone work in the studio next to his office.  
  
“We need to do as much as we can. Please, send everything important to my house, I will be working from here for the time being in my personal studio. This way we’ll lack only one studio so the work should go, more or less, smoothly.”  
  
“I understand. I will send everything in the morning. Good night, Akanishi-san.”  
  
Jin’s assistant hung up. Akanishi was looking for a moment on his phone with a blank look before his lips twisted into a wicked grin. He just killed two birds with one stone. One, he made sure there won’t be any delays in the corporation and two, during his stay at home he can easily execute his plan and say ‘bye-bye’ to his ‘favorite’ babysitter.  
  
Jin happily exited his office and went to tuck Theia in. The girl smiled widely seeing her father in the doorway and stretched out her little arms towards him, asking silently for a hug. Jin complied and bent down, kissing his girl’s cute, pink, chubby cheeks playfully. Theia giggled and returned her papa’s sweet gesture. Jin covered her with a soft, warm blanket and sat on the edge of the bed.  
  
“Ne, Theia-chan? Would you like it if papa stayed at home with you for a few days?”  
  
“Really? Papa will stay?” The girl’s eyes sparkled in happiness and Jin nodded with a smile but Theia frowned suddenly and asked. “If papa’s home, will Kazu-nii not be here?”  
  
“Do you want him to be here?” Jin asked feeling equally angry and happy at his daughter’s question; angry because he couldn’t stand how familiar Theia got with Kamenashi and happy that he has an excuse to ask the man to come despite being at home personally.  
  
“Yes. Theia-chan likes Kazu-nii ve~ry much!” she said excitedly and looked hopefully at her dad.  
  
“Then Kamenashi-san will be here as well.”  
  
Theia smiled widely but tiredly. She rubbed her eyes with her small fists and yawned. Jin wished her nice dreams and slowly went out, closing the door behind him quietly. He walked back to his own bedroom and got ready to go to bed. He fell asleep grinning at the thought of his plan and slept, dreaming about the moment he’ll finally get to fire the man who apparently bought hearts of both his ex-wife and now also daughter.

  
* * *

  
When Kazuya came on the next day, Jin announced him the news. Jin was a little afraid that Kamenashi might get suspicious but the man didn’t have any complains, he even said that he will make sure that he and Theia won’t come near his office and studio to not disturb the working man. Jin only nodded and walked off. But he didn’t take care of his actual work, instead his mind was focused on something much more urgent…

  
* * *

  
Kazuya watched as the man disappeared in his office and stood in the corridor for a minute. He felt that the man said the truth about the problems in his company but at the same time something was telling him that there was more to this whole situation. The question was – what? Kame shrugged and walked to Theia’s bedroom to check up on the 3-year-old. The girl was still sleeping soundly. Kazuya smiled and decided to go to the kitchen where Kanagawa-san was making breakfast.  
  
“Good morning, Nakagawa-san.”  
  
“Ah, Kamenashi-san, good morning.” The woman smiled warmly and Kazuya looked at the counter. Slices of bread were placed next to the toaster.  
  
“Bread?” He asked surprised.  
  
“Yes, Akanishi-san spent way too much time in America. It’s like a small obsession of his. Ask him about the country and you will need to listen to him for the rest of the day.”  
  
“But American breakfast? It’s not too healthy, especially for Theia.” Kame shook his head in disapproving gesture.  
  
“You’re right. That’s why Theia-chan gets only one toast and a boiled egg to her portion of rice and miso soup.”  
  
“Good, she needs to know Japanese cuisine. It’s part of our culture after all.”  
  
“If only Akanishi-san had the same opinion as you do. I would be happier with him eating normal food. That boy needs vitamins, not those fat snacks he brings home.” Kazuya chuckled at the woman’s motherly behavior and he came closer to the counter.  
  
“May I help you with something, Nakagawa-san?”  
  
“Oh, you can cook?” Kame nodded with a smile. “Perfect, can you cut vegetables for me and peel the skin from oranges? There’s another apron next to the fridge.”  
  
Kame put on a blue apron and took a knife. He carefully but skillfully cut carrots and cucumbers into not too thick not too thin slices. The maid was slightly impressed and let the man take care of miso soup while she was making the American breakfast for Akanishi. The woman was grateful for the younger’s help and wanted to repay him by making an additional portion for him. Kazuya declined. He had a feeling that if Akanishi got to know that he ate the food Nakagawa-san’s prepared, his employer might use it as an excuse to fire him; something along the lines: ‘he makes my maid make him food!’ – Kame preferred not to get into conflict with the older man.  
  
When the food was ready, Nakagawa-san went to Akanishi’s office while Kame went back to Theia’s room. He peeked quietly inside before making his way to the girl’s bed. She was cutely hugging her favorite teddy bear, which was actually a panda, and smiling sweetly in her dream. Kame almost didn’t want to wake her up but it was already time for it. He knew that if she won’t get up now, she will have problems to fall asleep in the evening. Kazuya called the girl’s name gently a few times until she opened her eyes. She looked at her babysitter sleepily, slightly confused but smiled nonetheless. She was happy to see that her papa kept his promise.  
  
Kame helped Theia to tie her shoelaces and let her hug him before taking hold of her small hand and walking downstairs to the dining room. Jin was already there with a cup of coffee in his hand. Theia immediately ran to her father and demanded a hug. The older obligated and kissed his princess’s cheeks. Theia giggled and kissed the man back before running to her own chair and climbing on it. Kazuya sat next to her, ready to help her.  
  
Jin observed, hoping that the babysitter will make a mistake; he didn’t care what type of mistake, _any_ would be good. Kame was aware of his gaze but decided to ignore it and concentrate on his job; why should he be afraid of Akanishi? He _knew_ he was doing right. Theia was happy and smiling widely, she was a normal (at least as normal as having a famous parents was), healthy child.  
  
Jin couldn’t find a ‘loophole’ in the younger man’s behavior. It was making him angry but he wouldn’t give up, he had some aces up his sleeve, he just needed to find the perfect time to use them. The man thought for a moment. The best way to find the opportunity was to ask the babysitter for today’s schedule.  
  
“Kamenashi-san.” The younger looked at his employer. “I would like to know what’s your plan for the day.” Jin sipped from his cup.  
  
“I thought I would take Theia to the park first and then eat lunch in the garden.” The man said while cleaning Theia’s face with a napkin.  
  
“Good, just make sure she doesn’t hurt herself by accident.”  
  
“Of course.” Kame answered politely even if he was angry inside; he didn’t like to be looked down on.  
  
Jin smiled to himself. It was a perfect occasion to start on his scheme. He had a few ideas that would make Kamenashi lose his job or make him quit; no matter which one would work, Jin would be satisfied anyway. He just couldn’t wait for the babysitter to take Theia out so he could prepare everything.

  
* * *

  
Kame watched as Theia was running around on the green grass. The weather was very nice; the sun was shining and nicely warming people in the park, the sky was clear except for a few white clouds and the wind was blowing lightly making the air feel fresh. It was a good day to spend time outside so Kazuya soon joined the small girl playing ‘hide and seek’.  
  
Before he knew it, Theia made friends with some kids but despite that, she still wanted Kame to participate in their games. The man was rather surprised knowing from experience that when children played with each other, they used to forget about adults. If Kazuya was Theia’s parent, he wouldn’t be as surprised but since he was practically a stranger to the girl, he wondered how often Theia’s parents spent time with her like he was at the moment.  
  
Kame shook his head at the ridiculousness of his thoughts. Akanishi-san and Kuroki-san loved their daughter deeply. He could see it clearly but with Kuroki-san’s leave, and considering that the father also didn’t have much time at the moment, Theia probably felt lonely and missed playing with them. Kame was the closest to a parent right now so she probably focused her attention on him. It was sad and nice at the same time.  
  
After playing some more they went home. On their way back, Theia spotted a pet shop and Kame agreed to go inside for a short while after the girl looked at him pleading, making cute puppy eyes. Kazuya knew perfectly well where she’s learnt that trick seeing as her father was using it as well. Once inside, the girl instantly ran to the fish section. Kame followed her a little surprised she didn’t ran to see cats or dogs since these animals were most loved by small children. The mystery was solved quickly when he saw her looking at the terrarium with turtles, calling to him happily.  
  
“Kazu-nii! Come, come!” The girl pointed at the bowl-like glass container. “So cute~! Kazu-nii must like turtles very much.”  
  
“Why?” the man asked curiously and Theia looked at him in confusion.  
  
“Kazu-nii has turtle in his name…” the girl’s eyes widened in surprise. “Does it mean that Kazu-nii doesn’t like them?”  
  
“Oh, I like them but that’s not why I have them in my name.” Kame smiled; he was impressed that Theia connected his name with the animal; she was very smart for her age.  
  
“No?”  
  
“No.”  
  
The girl furrowed her eyebrows, crinkling her nose funnily in reflection. Finally she nodded but didn’t ask further probably deciding that she doesn’t care about the truth; having a turtle in the name because of liking the animal was very cute in her opinion so she didn’t want to be proved wrong. She turned her attention back to the turtles and observed them. Surprisingly, she didn’t get bored of the slow animals like other children her age, on the contrary she seemed to be completely engrossed in them.  
  
“Theia-chan, we need to go.”  
  
“But… the turtles…” she said sadly but Kazuya just shook his head. The girl sniffed loudly, her eyes getting slightly wet, nevertheless she grabbed Kame’s hand, even if unwillingly. When they were walking out, Theia stopped and turned back to the turtles. “Bye-bye, Kame-chan,” she said while waving to the animals. The scene was really sweet and touching for Kazuya so he crouched in front of the girl who looked at him quizzically.  
  
“I can’t buy you a real turtle but what if I buy you a plushy?”  
  
“Really? Kazu-nii will buy a plushy turtle for Theia-chan?”  
  
“Un,” Kazuya nodded and Theia jumped on the man hugging him tightly and squalling in happiness. “But you need to promise to eat all the vegetables.”  
  
“Green peas, too?”  
  
“Green peas, too.”  
  
Theia pouted but nodded obediently. Kame smiled and grabbed her hand. On the way back, he bought the promised stuffed turtle and a pack of strawberries for dessert. The girl completely forgot about the hated vegetable, hugging her new toy with a big smile. Kame knew he probably shouldn’t buy her things, she wasn’t his daughter after all, but he couldn’t help himself. She was very lovely and adorable little girl and somewhat he wanted her to remember him after Meisa comes back from America and he would need to go away.  
  
Once home, Kame sat on a stylish wooden chair on the veranda while Theia started chasing after a butterfly. The man kept an eye on the girl until she became bored and came to sit on a chair next to his. She climbed on it herself, refusing any help; she wanted to show she was big enough to do it herself and Kame had no intentions to interrupt her. She smiled widely when he managed to sit and Kazuya clapped while smiling proudly.  
  
While Theia was engrossed in drawing her new plushy turtle, Nakagawa-san came to them with lunch. Kazuya was surprised the woman made him one as well but she wouldn’t let him refuse saying that he needs energy to take care of the lively girl. He bashfully took the offered food and thanked the woman. Theia was beaming as well, happy that she wouldn’t have to eat alone. Nakagawa-san sat next to them since she was done at the moment and needed a small break. Kazuya finished his portion of onigiri and looked at Theia, he chuckled seeing rice that stuck to the girl’s face. He asked Nakagawa-san to stay with the child and got up himself to go to the kitchen for some paper towel or a tissue.  
  
Jin observed them discreetly, waiting for the right moment. He’s eyes started sparkling mischievously and his lips formed a smirk. He watched as the younger man made his way to the kitchen and when he was sure the man wouldn’t see him, he quickly walked into the living room and tied the thin, almost invisible string to the leg of a heavy bookshelf. Giggling to himself, he ran up the stairs and waited for a sound of a crash.  
  
Kame grabbed a paper towel and headed out of the kitchen. He was surprised when his leg stumbled over something almost making him fall forward. Nevertheless the man had to fall to the floor anyway at the end. When he tripped, a vase that stood on the small table about two meters away from him, overturned and started rolling towards the edge. Kame quickly darted forward and in the last second caught the vase. He sighted relieved and got up putting the vase back on its place. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. He didn’t have an idea how the falling vase was connected to his stumbling but something was suspicious here. He turned around and looked for a paper towel he dropped before. When he bend down to pick it up, he saw it; a thin string laying messily on the floor. He grabbed it and in the same moment he could swear he heard someone cursing, and that cursing sounded exactly like Akanishi Jin.  
  
Kazuya sighted and decided to ignore the man’s childish behavior. Akanishi wanted him out – Kazuya would stay no matter what. Kame walked back to the veranda and sat in his spot. Theia’s innocent, sticky face was really adorable so Kame’s mood increased immediately. He smiled and cleaned the girl’s face. Nakagawa-san gave him a look and Kame only nodded knowing that the woman probably realized that him being away for quite some time had something to do with their employer.

  
* * *

  
Jin paced around his room, biting on his thumb in frustration. He was sure the vase would break and he would be able to fire Kamenashi for touching his belongings but the man was surprisingly fit for such a small, skinny guy. Because of the man’s good condition, Jin’s plan ended with a failure but the older man didn’t have any intention to give up. On the contrary he still had more ‘traps’ to make and he was going to use whatever he could, even his own daughter. He only needed to remember to not make her cry in the process.  
  
Jin didn’t have everything he needed to make another pranks, except for one thing.  
  
When Theia was taking her afternoon nap, Kamenashi was usually helping Nakagawa-san in her chores. The woman seemed to fall for Kamenashi’s goody two-shoes act the same way Jin’s ex-wife and daughter did, and Jin couldn’t stand it. No one seemed to be on his side and able to see that a _man_ being a _babysitter_ was just too weird to be true. Something just had to be wrong with the guy if he wanted to do it willingly.  
  
“What is with this guy? It’s just not normal.” Jin was talking to himself quietly while observing the guy that was calmly sweeping the floor in the corridor. The older man made sure not to be seen and crouched down every time the babysitter was looking up as if sensing Jin’s presence. At some point, Nakagawa-san came out of the dining room with a black sack full of rubbish and asked Kame to throw it away. The man agreed immediately, at the same time making Jin smirk in mischief. When the younger exited the house Jin came down and quickly locked the door. He wanted to jump from happiness; if the man wouldn’t come back, he can fire him for leaving his place of work.  
  
Unfortunately, Jin forgot that the house has more than just one door so his jaw dropped at the sight of Kame sitting on a chair in the kitchen. The man was peeling mandarins of their skin that Nakagawa-san needed for a dessert. Jin couldn’t believe his eyes and was blinking stupidly until the woman saw him.  
  
“Akanishi-san? Shouldn’t you be in your office, working?” the woman asked.  
  
“Huh? Ah, yes, I should but I… I… I wanted coffee, yes, coffee,” the man tried to explain himself.  
  
“Then why didn’t you call, sir? We have this speaking system for a reason,” She pointed to the small device stuck to the wall with a few buttons and small lights attached to it along with names of different rooms.  
  
“W-well, I just… I wanted to stretch myself a bit. It’s not a crime, is it?” Jin grumbled with an annoyed pout that made Kame smirk a little.  
  
“Of course not, but I haven’t seen you ‘stretching yourself’ since I started working here,” the woman replied and went back to cooking diner.  
  
Jin was flustered and quickly glanced at Kamenashi who was able to contain another smirk from appearing on his face. Nevertheless, Jin saw a slight twitching of the other’s lips and narrowed his eyes. The freaking babysitter was laughing at him! Akanishi huffed and turned back, walking away towards his office. Since he wouldn’t be able to make more today, it was better for him to concentrate on his actual job.

  
* * *

  
The week with Akanishi staying in the house was hard for Kame but not hard enough so he would quit. Actually, most of Akanishi’s pranks were childish and more than making Kazuya want to resign, he was just more and more annoyed with the older man, especially when they had something to do with Theia.  
  
On the second day after the vase thing, Jin bought Theia new permanent markers and crayons. He also told the little girl that when you like someone, you should use your new markers _on_ them when they’re asleep and later draw a huge picture for them on the wall. Of course, Theia listened to her father and wanted to make Kame a surprise. When the babysitter left the girl, supposedly asleep, in her bedroom, Theia got up and ran downstairs asking for help Nakagawa-san. The woman agreed not knowing what the little girl planned. But really, what can such a small kid do? Maybe try to draw a portrait of Kamenashi, right?  
  
She was wrong and she realized that when she found Theia an hour later drawing on the wall in the living with Kazuya sleeping on the couch. The man had a big blue rectangles around his eyes imitating glasses, a pair of black mustache and beard, and red circles on his cheeks. The wall wasn’t looking any better; Theia had time to draw a house, some tree, flowers and a bunch of people. Nakagawa-san went towards Kame and shook him awake.  
  
“Is it the time?” The man asked right away, still slightly sleepy.  
  
“Yes and no. Theia-chan wasn’t napping at all, she wanted to make a surprise for you but I think Akanishi-san might have something to do with it.”  
  
“What?” Kazuya looked at her confused and the woman gave him a small mirror she always had with herself. Kame gapped at his reflection until Theia ran to him and climbed on his lap.  
  
“Kazu-nii! Do you like it? Papa said you need to draw with new crayons on the face of a someone you like.” She explained excitedly.  
  
“Um… yes, I like it but you don’t need to do it.” The man chuckled and the girl frowned.  
  
“Really? But papa said to draw.”  
  
“Your papa just likes to make pranks on people.” Kazuya explained and the girl’s lips formed an O-like shape. Then she nodded, realizing that her father was just stupid, like always. Theia came down from Kame’s lap and grabbed his hand wanting him to come closer to her piece of art. When they were in front of it, she started explaining everything.  
  
“This is our house, a tree, roses,” she was pointing to certain part of her drawing. “This is Nakagawa-san, Mayumi-nee-chan,” Kame guessed it had to be the second maid that he hadn’t had a pleasure to meet yet. “Theia-chan, Mommy, Papa and Kazu-nii.” She said proudly.  
  
Kame was rather surprised with the picture, not because it was quite nice for a 3-year-old girl, but because of the arrangement of people in it. There was nothing weird with Akanishi standing next to his ex-wife or Theia standing in front of him, her plushy turtle and teddy bear next to her, but the sight of Kame drawn next to Akanishi, not to mention really close to him, was rather shocking. Kazuya wondered why Theia decided he needed to stand much closer to Jin than Meisa. He knew for sure that Theia was always very happy to see her mom so it wasn’t a way of showing that they were on bad terms with each other. Also Jin and Meisa seemed rather close as well and didn’t fight over Theia so Kazuya was sure it would be natural for the small girl to draw her parents together and yet, she didn’t – instead she’s drawn Kame and Jin together.  
  
“Kamenashi-san?” Nakagawa-san saw the man’s shocked face and it didn’t take her long to realize what made him so speechless. “Oh…”  
  
“Do you like it?” The girl looked at Kame with shining eyes. The man quickly came back to Earth.  
  
“Yes, I do,” he answered with a smile and the girl hugged his legs tightly before she skipped towards the door before Kame could ask her about her drawing.  
  
The adults looked at each other, helpless – they had no idea what was on Theia’s mind and that made them worried. But the girl seemed rather normal so maybe the picture was just a random incident. They shrugged at each other and followed the small girl who was impatiently waiting for them. Kazuya quickly saw that the girl was tired, deprived of her afternoon nap and upon asking Nakagawa-san for her opinion, decided to put the girl to bed so she would rest at least a little before dinner.  
  
During the time Theia was sleeping, Kazuya and Nakagawa-san were trying to clean the wall in the living room but before they started, Kazuya took a picture of the drawing so Theia wouldn’t be sad afterwards. Somehow they managed to remove most of the colorful lines and circles but Kame couldn’t say the same about his face. At the end he had to use a solvent and carefully cleaned the marker’s ink. At the end he needed to leave some parts of the rectangles around his eyes in fear he might get the solvent in them.  
  
When Jin came down, he smirked at the sight of the man’s face. Even though he was aware that Kamenashi was able to remove the ‘make-up’, Jin still could enjoy some remaining blue lines on the man’s face. Kazuya glared at the man at first but then remembered Theia’s drawing and his expression changed to a questioning one. He watched Akanishi walking around. He couldn’t find a single reason for the girl to draw them next to each other, especially since they hadn’t spent more than half an hour with each other during the whole time Kazuya was taking care of Theia.  
  
Kazuya shook his head to get rid of the weird thoughts and went upstairs to wake Theia up. When he did so, he came back, said goodbye to the small girl and Nakagawa-san and bowed to his employer stiffly. Walking back home Kame was thinking about the picture but when he got a headache, he sighed in resignation and decided not to dwell on it anymore. After all, kids’ minds are quite complicated for adults to understand sometimes, aren’t they?

  
* * *

  
Wednesday, just like two previous days, wasn’t the best. When Kazuya got to work, he found Theia already awake, too awake. The girl was very hyper today, running around, jumping, squealing loudly and dragging Kame everywhere, losing interest quickly in everything; she wasn’t simply energetic, she was overactive, completely high… on sweets.  
  
When Kazuya walked into Theia’s room, he found many colorful wrappers lying on the floor. The amount of sugar the girl absorbed this morning shocked Kame. He wondered where the girl got a hand on all those sweets since she couldn’t really go and buy them herself. The mystery was solved when Kame made his way to the kitchen and saw Akanishi there. The man acted normal but when Kazuya turned around, he couldn’t hide his smirk anymore. In the corner of his eyes, Kame saw the mischievous expression and cursed inwardly.  
  
Jin was enjoying watching the younger man struggling to keep up with Theia and made her sit still for at least a second. It was very amusing seeing as Theia suddenly ran out to the garden and the babysitter started chasing the girl. When they came back inside, Theia was laughing and fidgeting in Kamenashi’s hold while the younger man was all dirty and tired. Jin even could see some scratches, probably from the roses that grow in the backyard.  
  
Finally Jin’s plan worked, he just needed to wait for Kamenashi to came to him and quit. He sat comfortably on the chair in his office and while humming a happy tune, he was checking the documents. About two hours later he heard knocking on his door. He grinned widely, expecting Kamenashi to enter the room, but his smiled faded a little seeing Nakagawa-san.  
  
“Akanishi-san, the dinner is ready. Will you come down or should I bring it here?”  
  
“No, no, I will come.”  
  
The woman nodded and exited the room. Jin followed her soon after in quick steps. When he entered the dining room, he saw Kamenashi sitting at his usual place next to Theia and feeding the girl with rice. Jin gaped at the scene. Hi daughter seemed to be really tired, barely keeping herself awake. Jin wondered how that’s possible since he knew from experience that after the amount of sweets he gave her this morning, she wouldn’t be able to sleep even at night and it was only 4:30 in the afternoon! How could she be so exhausted.  
  
Kazuya felt that someone was observing him and Theia. He turned back and saw Jin’s shocked expression. When the older man focused his attention on the babysitter, Kame smiled innocently but his eyes were sparkling with mirth and, just a little bit of, maliciousness. Jin glared at the younger, huffed in annoyance and sat in his own chair upset that he wasn’t able to make Kamenashi ran away again.  
  
Kame observed the man, satisfied with his success. He was able to play with Theia so much that the girl got tired more easily; she just needed to get some good exercises at the local playground. Thankfully, Kazuya knew what made children tired quickly. Now he could proudly look Akanishi in the eyes and say that there’s nothing in this world that would make him quit. Yet, Kazuya frowned upon seeing a smile creeping its way on Akanishi’s lips. The older man suddenly looked up and stared straight in Kame’s eyes. Kazuya furrowed his eyebrows while Jin smirked; he was up to something and Kazuya knew that the war wasn’t over yet. Maybe Kazuya won the battle but the week hadn’t ended yet.

  
* * *

  
On Thursday, Jin’s ideas started to get a different level of creativity. Akanishi’s weirdest plan included Kame drawing a cute animal for Theia. How the man knew that he was bad at drawing, Kame didn’t know, but the older man’s agenda was to make Theia think that the babysitter wasn’t as good as she thought. It’s not hard to guess that the plan was a failure, even more than other plans since Theia, surprisingly, liked Kame’s picture very much.  
  
Akanishi’s second plan for the daywas to make Kame chase a cat around the house to bring it later to one of his friends who was a big animal lover.  
  
Jin opened the window without anyone noticing and let the cat he had bought in the pet shop out of the cage. Jin brought also a mechanical mouse that he left in the dining room. Of course, when the cat saw the mouse, it immediately started chasing it not being careful of its surroundings . While Theia was squealing and clapping her hands in excitement, Nakagawa-san jumped on a chair afraid of the mouse that she took for a real one. Kazuya rushed after the cat, catching everything that was about to fall. Thankfully, nothing got broken and when the mouse stopped moving, the cat got very calm; it lost interest in the mouse-like toy. Kame slowly took the cat and put it back in the cage he found by accident next to the door.  
  
Kame was a little mad at Akanishi for startling Nakagawa-san but otherwise he didn’t mind the joke, the cat was quite cute and liked fawning so Kame let Theia play with it for some time. The girl was a little sad that the cat wouldn’t stay with her but Kazuya promised that if his friend agrees, he would bring the cat with him from time to time.  
  
Jin was in a bad mood for the rest of the day wondering what he had to do to make Kamenashi quit. Slowly, he started to believe there was nothing that would offend the man enough but being the stubborn man he was, he didn’t want to give up; he would eat worms before he would let Kamenashi be. He wanted him out, now and forever.

  
* * *

  
Friday was a day Kame had enough of his employer’s pranks. Jin got desperate and it was very obvious that he lacked ideas because he did something that made Theia sad. Damaging furniture, painting walls, trying to tire Kame, giving sweets to Theia – all of it was okay because it didn’t hurt anyone else except for Kame but with his last idea, Jin got overboard; it wasn’t a simple joke that one would laugh at soon after being make fun of, it was the one that made people angry and made them cry.  
  
Theia was a good girl and didn't make any problems but Kazuya knew how much she missed her mom. The girl was happy and energetic, enjoying every day but she was the happiest when talking to her mom. Kazuya made sure Theia was able to see Meisa at least every two days. Thankfully, in modern times, there was Internet and many programs that helped to communicate with people even on the other side of the globe.  
  
"Kazu-nii, is it time for mama to call?" Theia asked while looking at the babysitter hopefully. Kame looked at his watch and smiled at the child.  
  
"Almost. Let's turn on the computer."  
  
"Un!"  
  
The girl grinned and nodded her head energetically then ran to the small but very cozy library. Kazuya had to say that he liked the room a lot, it was a great place to relax and get some well deserved peace - at least that was what he thought since he couldn't neglect his job; not to mention that it would be an insult if he said that Theia was giving him troubles. The girl was just adorable and nothing could change that.  
  
Theia climbed on one of the chairs quickly and pressed a power button with a short chubby finger but her smile wavered leaving her rather confused. Kazuya frowned seeing as the computer’s screen stayed black – nothing happened. Kame looked under the desk in search for a loose cable or any other broken part that might be a reason for the device not to work like it normally should.  
  
“Kazu-nii, why is it not working?” Theia asked the man with obvious sadness.  
  
“I don’t know. Come here. We will see if we can use your father’s computer.” Theia fidgeted slightly biting on her lower lip just slightly. “Theia-chan, is something wrong?” Kame crouched in front of the small girl.  
  
“Papa’s busy, is it okay to go to his room?” the girl looked at Kame with her puppy eyes. It was cute how much she cared about her father’s job but it was very visible that she wants to see her mother even more. Kazuya smiled lightly and patted her head.  
  
“I think your papa won’t mind if it’s something like you talking to mama.”  
  
“Really?”  
  
“Really.”  
  
Theia smiled and her eyes got brighter. She nodded and grabbed Kame’s outstretched hand in her chubby one. Kazuya guided them to his employer’s office and knocked softly on the wooden door. They heard a muffled sound and Kazuya pushed down a handle opening the door and letting Theia in first. The girl ran to her father quickly while Kazuya walked inside and closed the door behind him, before approaching Akanishi and his daughter.  
  
“Sweetheart! What are you doing here? Is everything alright?”  
  
“Papa, computer in the library doesn’t work!” The girl said with a pout. Seeing that the girl won’t say more, Kazuya decided to explain the situation properly.  
  
“Kuroki-san was going to call Theia-chan today but the computer doesn’t work even though nothing seems to be broken or misplaced. Akanishi-san, is it possible for us to borrow your laptop for some time?”  
  
“Please, papa! I want to talk to mama!” The girl pleaded. Jin melted at the sight of his pouting daughter but he started to feel guilty.  
  
“Of course, you can. Here, just give it back in an hour. I need it after all.”  
  
Jin handed his laptop to Kame who bowed slightly and exited the room along with squealing Theia. They went to the living room and made themselves comfortable on the couch, putting the laptop on the elegant glass table in front of them. Kame turned on the device and searched for the right program. In the opened window he could see all the contacts but he frowned almost immediately. Something was wrong – all contacts were grey indicating that he had no connection to the Internet. He quickly checked what might be wrong furrowing his eyebrows in concentration. Surprisingly the problem seemed to lay inside the house so Kame left Theia with Nakagawa-san and went to check the router. Kazuya gritted his teeth in anger upon seeing the device. He had no doubts that Akanishi had something to do with what happened to the router. The device was alright but all the wires were cut in half – it was obvious that _someone_ did it and it wasn’t the old gardener for sure.  
  
Kame took a deep breath trying to calm himself down. He couldn’t do anything at the moment except to go and break the bad news to Theia-chan. He slowly made his way to the living room. Theia looked at him hopefully and Kame’s heart almost shattered at the sight. He sat next to the girl and explained the situation in the way she would understand. Theia lowered her head and nodded then stood up silently and went to take her crayons and a piece of paper. She sat quietly in the corner and started drawing.  
  
Kazuya looked at her sadly. He knew how much Theia was wanting to see her mom. The normally energetic girl was now sulking in the corner, barely stopping herself from crying – it was a heartbreaking sight. Kame considered calling Meisa by phone but the bill would be huge so, with a heavy heart, Kame discarded the idea.  
  
When half an hour later Theia approached him again, her lower lip was quivering slightly and her small fists were clenched tightly. He immediately took the girl on his lap and Theia buried her face in his shirt starting to wail loudly. Kazuya was rubbing the girl’s back and rocked her gently back and forth, whispering soothing words to her ear. Theia was crying and screaming, wanting to see her mother but Kame couldn’t do anything – he felt completely helpless.  
  
When the girl’s crying turned into a soft sob, Kazuya make the girl drink some water and took her to the bedroom. Theia refused to let go of Kame so the man laid down in the bed still patting the girl’s back and head in reassuring gesture. Soon he felt the small hands losing their grip on him and he gently got up from the bed. He pulled the blanket and covered Theia with it. Kazuya pushed away some strands of hair from the cute face and exited the room.  
  
Kame leaned on the door with his head lowered and face hidden behind his dark bangs. When he raised his head again his eyes were looking hard and determined, ready to face the man who brought his own child so much pain and to scream straight in Akanishi’s face what Kame thought of him.  
  
Kazuya made his way to Akanishi’s office and walked in after knocking. The older man looked at him in question but his eyes were shining with mischief. Kame closed the door behind him and stopped in front of his employer looking at him with a grim, angry expression. The other straightened up in his chair and leaned back without a word waiting for Kamenashi to admit defeat. What Jin hadn't foreseen was that the younger man was very devoted person and his love for children made him only want to stay and protect Theia from every bad thing in this world, even if it meant he had to fight against the girl’s father.  
  
“Do you have something to tell me?” Akanishi asked nonchalantly while intertwining his hands together and putting his elbows on the armchairs. Kazuya’s eyebrow twitched in annoyance.  
  
“Yes, I do have something to tell you.”  
  
“I will listen then, go ahead.” The older man smirked inwardly, this was the moment he had waited for.  
  
“Akanishi-san,” Kazuya crossed his arms and looked coldly at the sitting man. “may I know _who_ cut the wires of the router?”  
  
“Oh… someone cut them? It’s the first time I hear of it.” Kame’s patience was already thin when he came into the room, now he snapped completely and hit the desk in front of him with both palms.  
  
“Don’t try to play innocent, Akanishi. I know you did it!” Kazuya growled angrily.  
  
“Watch your mouth, Kamenashi-san. I’m your _employer_ , I can easily fire you for lack of respect.”  
  
“Well, I would respect you if you actually weren’t a big _child_. Even your own daughter is more mature than you. For the whole week you tried to do everything to make my job harder than it is so I would quit but let me tell you, I will NOT quit! On the contrary, I will stay as long as Kuroki-san won’t come back from United States.” Kazuya calmed down a little and crossed his arms again. Jin frowned for a second, then looked at the babysitter in fury.  
  
“What did you say?!” Jin stood up and glared at the shorter male.  
  
“You heard it. I’m going to stay as long as I’m needed here. Besides, you can be sure that I will inform Kuroki-san about everything that happened this past week, including today’s incident!”  
  
“You wouldn’t dare…” Jin drawled out through his clenched teeth.  
  
“Oh, I certainly would. If you play dirty like that then have it your way but I’m not going to stay put when you’re hurting your own child! If you have a problem with me, then solve it like a man, not a freaking little brat!”  
  
“So what? You want to fight? Fine, I don’t mind one bit.” Jin narrowed his eyes dangerously and smirked while Kame rolled his eyes.  
  
“Really, what a kid…” Kazuya muttered quietly but Jin seemed to hear it anyway but before he could react, Kame spoke again. “No, Akanishi- _san_ , what I mean is why don’t we make a bet that will solve everything once and for all?”  
  
“A bet?” Jin raised an eyebrow in question.  
  
“Yes.” Kame nodded before explaining further. “If during the next week you will be able to take care of Theia-chan better than I do, then I will quit without complaining.”  
  
“ How do you know I will be free then? I’m a busy man – I still need to do my own work.”  
  
“Seeing as you had _lots_ of time to prepare all those traps, I think you have enough time to work and spend time with Theia-chan.” Kame answered with a short glare.  
  
“What if I lose?”  
  
“If you lose, you won’t complain ever again and accept the fact that I’m going to look after your daughter until your ex-wife comes back. What do you say?” Kazuya extended his hand for Akanishi to shake. The older looked at it for a moment before he grabbed it facing Kame again.  
  
“Deal.” The man squeezed Kazuya’s hand tightly but soon they broke their hands apart and Kame exited the room with a short ‘excuse me’. Jin glared at the door intensely before growling in annoyance and falling back onto his chair. His plan backfired on him and he had the last chance to get rid of the pest in a form of a male babysitter.  
  
He wouldn’t fail, not again…


	4. The Bet

**Chapter 3: The Bet **

  
On Sunday, a day before a bet between Jin and Kame started, the music producer decided to meet his best friends. He needed some advice and maybe also help because the previous days showed him that Kamenashi Kazuya was a strong opponent; if he wanted to win, he had to be prepared. Of course, Theia being his daughter was already a huge advantage but it was never bad to try and get a few more points at the beginning so the man took his sweet little pumpkin with him. After all, the girl would be very happy to see her uncles.

  
* * *

  
Jin and Theia arrived on time. The restaurant, where they were supposed to meet the others, was an elegant place but rather comfortable and secluded enough for Jin not to worry about paparazzi or crazy fans trying to get his attention. It was especially dangerous now, after the divorce, when he was single once again. In the last few months, all types of women and even some men, were asking him out on dates and to parties but Jin always declined. Not that he wouldn’t like to find himself a new girlfriend but he was worried that they might try to separate him from his daughter. After he and Meisa went their own ways, Theia became the most important person in the young father’s life; Jin didn’t want to lose her so dating some woman he didn’t know at all was out of question. Surprisingly, even Kamenashi stood higher on Jin’s list of potential lovers than most women because despite being a man who annoyed Jin to no end, Akanishi got to know his personality a little bit during a short time so he knew what to expect from the babysitter; that was a plus.  
  
When the family went inside hand in hand, they immediately spotted two young men sitting in the corner. One of them smiled widely and started waving eagerly while the other smacked the first one for making a clown out of himself, attracting unnecessary attention to their table. Jin smirked at their antics while Theia giggled seeing a pout forming on her uncle’s face. She let go of her father’s hand and ran happily towards the two men; Jin following closely behind her.  
  
“Pi-jichan! Ryo-jichan!” The girl yelled with a big smile adorning her face while hugging both of her uncles respectively.  
  
“Theia-chan! Mou~ Pi-jichan missed you sooo much~ Your papa is so mean for not letting me see you,” Yamashita Tomohisa complained while squeezing the giggling girl affectionately.  
  
“Oi, Pi! I want to hug the little princess too. Stop being a pain and let her go.” Pi showed his tongue to the annoyed Nishikido Ryo and reluctantly put Theia down. She went to her other uncle right away giving him a hug as well. “How are you, kiddo? Did your baka-father do something stupid again?”  
  
“Oi! I didn’t!” Jin glared at the smirking man, trying to protest but Theia looked at him with a pout.  
  
“But you did, papa!” She then looked at her uncle explaining. “Papa made a prank on Kazu-nii. He told me that I should draw on Kazu-nii’s face with my new crayons to show him that I like him but Kazu-nii said that Papa was just joking and I shouldn’t do it.”  
  
“Well, Kazu-nii was right. You can’t draw on people’s faces,” Ryo agreed but he wanted to laugh just like Pi at the moment.  
  
“Ne, what would you like to eat, Theia-chan? After you choose you can go play in the kids’ corner,” Pi asked her and the girl’s eyes started shining at the idea of having fun in the corner full of markers, crayons and toys prepared especially for children.  
  
“Strawberry cake!” Theia answered happily and all three men chuckled. Jin ordered for his daughter, asking also for a child’s meal since they came during lunch hours. Then he let the girl go to play. The trio watched the little princess for a while before Ryo decided to start the conversation.  
  
“Who the hell is Kazu-nii?” Ryo always had a sharp tongue so it was not a surprise for Jin that he started cursing right away; it was pretty much normal.  
  
“Kamenashi Kazuya, the freaking babysitter,” Jin answered bitterly; he was still rather angry that his plan hadn’t worked out.  
  
“Wait, isn’t ‘Kazuya’ a male name?” Yamapi was surprised.  
  
“Yeah, because he IS a guy.” The two looked at him as if he was crazy. “Don’t stare at me, it’s not like I want him to be my precious sweetheart’s babysitter! Meisa hired him. She said that he needed a job and that his situation is special or something. I had no say in that matter,” Jin huffed.  
  
“Wow… A male babysitter? That’s… unusual,” Yamapi tried to find the right words.  
  
“It sounds like some sick joke. Are you sure Meisa didn’t do it to piss you off?” Ryo crossed his arms.  
  
“I wish it was like that but no. She was very serious about the whole thing. It’s been three weeks since he started working. I tried to get rid of him but the guy is damn stubborn.”  
  
“Seriously? Getting a _guy_ to babysit? Did she hit her head with something or what?” Ryo snapped.  
  
“What do you mean by ‘get rid of him’?” Pi asked concerned and scared of the answer.  
  
“It’s not what you think, Pi. I just tried to make him quit, you know, annoy him enough to resign,” Jin shrugged like it was the most normal thing in the whole world.  
  
“That’s why you told Theia to paint the guy’s face?” Ryo raised his eyebrow.  
  
“Pretty much, yeah. It didn’t work, though.”  
  
“Of course it didn’t work, baka! Kids do it all the time! If the guy had any experience with children he won’t fall for it.”  
  
“Like I didn’t notice,” Jin said annoyed. “Anyway, I’ve got a bit desperate and Kamenashi got pissed. We made a bet. If I take care of Theia better than he normally does, he will quit without a word.”  
  
“And if he wins?” Yamapi asked.  
  
“I’m going to stop picking on him and let him do his job,” Jin grumbled hunching his shoulders.  
  
“So, what do you plan on doing?” Ryo sipped his coffee.  
  
“Well, I want to win, obviously, but can you help me a little? I don’t want to lose. No, scratch that. I _can’t_ lose,” Jin was determined - the fire in his eyes was the best evidence of it.  
  
“Okay, Bakanishi, but what do you want us to do? Lock Kamenashi somewhere so he wouldn’t check on you, or what?” Ryo raised an eyebrow.  
  
“Oi! Don’t call me that! And no, I don’t want you to lock him anywhere but maybe you could like… meet us by accident or visit so Theia would be happy? If she enjoys her time with me, Kamenashi will have to quit.”  
  
“It’s not a bad idea but…” Yamapi started but he couldn’t find a good reason to oppose to Jin’s idea.  
  
“Pi, I’m not asking you to hurt the guy or anything, I just want you to support me and maybe try to annoy him a little. It would also be good if you could observe him and find his weakness,” Jin looked at his two friends seriously, waiting for their answers. Yamapi sighed and looked at Ryo who only shrugged his shoulders while rolling his eyes.  
  
“Fine, Jin. We will help you but under one condition.”  
  
“What condition?” Jin asked suspiciously.  
  
“You need to promise…”  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“You need to promise that…” Pi leaned forward looking straight in Akanishi’s eyes.  
  
“What? Stop leaning in, you’re creeping me out,” Jin tried to move back but Pi was quicker and grabbed him by the collar bringing him closer before letting go.  
  
“You need to promise that… you will let me play with Theia-chan for the whole next Sunday! I want to spend time with my sweet, cute, adorable, lovable…” Pi started counting on his fingers.  
  
“Cut it short, pig!” Ryo barked out annoyed.  
  
“Don’t interrupt me, Ryo! Where was I? Ah, I know. Wonderful, amazing, charming…”  
  
“Oh, come on, Pi!” Jin whined.  
  
“...beautiful, lovely goddaughter.” Yamapi finally ended his speech.  
  
“She’s not your goddaughter, you idiot,” Jin whispered lowly so the man couldn’t hear him turning his head away but soon he was looking back at the younger man to give his answer. “Okay, I promise.”  
  
Yamapi squealed loudly and jumped on his best friend hugging him tightly and almost toppling them over along with the chair. The whole restaurant looked for the source of the commotion and Ryo wasn’t sure if he should hit his friend over the head or bang his own head on the table - the two idiots were bringing attention to them way too many times for Ryo’s liking. At the end the man chose the third option, going to play with Theia in the kids’ corner.  
  
After all, it was less embarrassing than staying with his two childish, overly touchy-feely-in-public, friends.

 

  
* * * Monday - Day One * * *

  
On the next day, Jin woke up earlier than usually. He wasn’t exactly nervous but the situation was getting to him a little – he felt uneasy but he was ready for everything. Standing in front of the mirror in his bathroom he was reminding himself about some general rules and goals he set for himself. His goal was nothing else than making Kamenashi lose their bet while one of his rules was to make sure Theia was having fun – a happy child was an obeying child.  
  
Or so Jin thought.  
  
What Jin didn’t know was that you can’t let children gain control over you. In contrary to his employer, Kazuya was aware of the fact that if you want to be a good parent, you need to know when to say ‘no’ to your child – succumbing to all kids’ requests, especially those unreasonable, would only bring problems years later. There was a difference between having fun and spoiling the child but that line was thin and it was easy to cross without even knowing about it.  
  
Jin stretched and making a last glance in the mirror, he exited the bathroom and moved to the living room to wait for the babysitter to come. He didn’t wait long as the younger man arrived five minutes later. Kame came earlier that day, knowing that they still have to talk about the rules of their bet.  
  
“Okay, the rules are simple,” Kazuya started. “One, I’m not going to interfere - if I do, you lose. Two, Theia needs to be well taken care off – if she gets sick or something, you fail. Three, I’m going to observe you for the whole day, no actions behind my back otherwise… you know. And four, remember that Theia is the most important here and not our bet.”  
  
“Of course, she is,” Jin agreed in an instant. The rules weren’t the worst. There was nothing about getting help from others so Pi and Ryo could be his backup. They were his plan ‘B’ but he hoped he wouldn’t have to call for them right away. He could take care of his own daughter after all.

  
*

  
Kazuya really didn’t take an eye off of Jin and Theia. He believed that Akanishi was capable of looking after the small girl but he was worried the man could overdo it. He didn’t doubt Jin was a good father seeing how protective he was of Theia but he had a slight daughter-complex. Kazuya wouldn’t be surprised if the man bought a ranch in Texas just because his sweetheart wanted a pony. He was rich enough to do so anyway.  
  
For now everything seemed normal. Jin was entertaining Theia by giving her a piggyback ride around the backyard and playing Indians with her. At the time of dinner, he took care of cleaning girl’s face and hands with a napkin. Jin also managed to feed Theia green peas she hated with passion. It was very funny to see the older man pouting and making teary-puppy eyes just so Theia would feel guilty and eat. Kazuya had to smile at the scene taking place in front of him. He put a palm over his lips so he wouldn’t laugh. He bet Jin would get pissed and even if the man couldn’t do anything now, Kazuya couldn’t guess what he would do after their bet came to an end. Jin promised to let him take care of Theia in peace but Jin could still do something to him after his work for the day was done.  
  
After dinner, Theia took a nap during which Kame helped wash the dishes. He didn’t have to be with his employer at the moment. Theia was sleeping and being glared at by an overprotective parent wasn’t his favorite activity. Thankfully, Jin decided to be away from the younger man as well. The day was going great so far and Jin didn’t want to lose his good mood by the sight of the babysitter’s face. It may affect Theia as well at some point – the girl was very perceptive of people’s emotions, especially Jin’s.  
  
The rest of the day, after Theia woke up that is, was rather peaceful. Theia wanted to watch an animated movie since she rarely had a chance to watch anything with her father. The only minus of it in Jin’s eyes was the fact that the girl made Kamenashi join them. Jin pouted asking his little girl if ‘he was not enough’. Theia giggled and kissed Jin’s cheek while giving him a hug. Despite her love for her papa, she got very attached to Kame in the short time. Having him close at important moments like watching a movie with her dad, was making her the happiest girl on Earth.  
  
Jin grumbled but for the sake of his little pumpkin he decided to endure it. Kame smirked slightly at the man’s annoyed face but kept watching the movie from time to time answering questions Theia directed at him instead of her papa.  
  
At the moment, the three of them looked very much like a real family enjoying their time together. Nakagawa-san chuckled at her thought. Her employer would be shocked if he knew about it. For him Kazuya was a serious rival to his daughter’s heart but she had a feeling the situation was a bit more sneaky. If he was protecting Theia’s heart from Kamenashi, who was protecting his own heart? She wouldn’t be surprised if Kamenashi took over Jin’s heart without the man noticing it.  
  
When the movie ended it was the time to put Theia asleep. Fortunately, the full day spent with her father exhausted the little girl so the man didn’t have much troubles. The girl fell asleep in his arms while he was carrying her upstairs. Kazuya watched from the doorway how Jin kissed the girl’s cheek and put her teddy bear in her small arms. Kame moved to the ground floor and took his coat to put it on. Meanwhile, Akanishi came and stopped next to him with a triumphant smile.  
  
“Like you could see, I can take care of Theia perfectly fine without you. Four more days and I’m going to win.” Kazuya smiled at the man. It wasn’t a mean grin, more like pitiful – Kame knew that the first day was always the easiest one. Problems start later.  
  
“You were very good today, Akanishi-san but the week just started,” Kame replied making Jin narrow his eyes dangerously at him. “Goodnight, Akanishi-san. See you tomorrow.”  
  
Kame bowed with a smiled and exited the building leaving Jin behind. Unconsciously, the young man made Jin even more fired up about the whole bet-idea than he was just this morning. Jin straightened his back and nodded to himself. He was going to be the best papa in the world.

 

  
* * * Tuesday - Day Two * * *

  
The second day started nicely. Theia was in a good mood and everything was going fine for the most of the day. Jin helped Theia make a fort from blankets and pillows in the middle of the living room and they pretended to be camping. They even made a fire in the fireplace and grilled marshmallows on the sticks Jin brought from the garden. Jin also asked Nakagawa-san to take out some sausages from the freezer so he and Theia could bake them above the fire.  
  
This time, to Jin’s dismay, Theia asked Kame to join as well. To the men’s surprise the girl brought Nakagawa-san too. The woman was a bit reluctant. She wasn’t the youngest and crouching in front of a fireplace wasn’t something she should do at her age. Pouting just a bit, Theia let the woman sit in the chair standing close by.  
  
After eating and taking her everyday nap, Theia got the idea to paint. The idea itself was nice but Kazuya snickered at the sight of his employer sitting stiffly on the ground while the small girl was drawing him. She made him take a very uncomfortable pose – Jin was bended to the side, one of his legs completely straight while the other was tucked under him. Both of his hands were supposed to make a single line and he had to look to the left all the time. The fact that the girl was taking her time with the picture, wasn’t helping much. Jin started sweating and losing his balance which made the little girl scold him for moving.  
  
After an hour or so, Kazuya started pitying the older man even if he was laughing loudly inside. Jin was on the verge of falling and Kazuya could bet his neck ached painfully while his leg probably went asleep already. He wasn’t wrong. When the girl finished and Jin could move, the man actually fell on the chair, arms and head first while his legs were wobbling funnily. He could barely move his head without hissing but he tried not to show it to his little sweetheart.  
  
The day came to an end and Jin and Kame found themselves in front of the main door again.  
  
“Annoying much?” Kazuya asked playfully and Jin glared at him.  
  
“Not as much as having you here,” Jin spat out making Kazuya frown.  
  
“Well, having you hindering my job beats it ten times. Goodbye, Akanishi-san.”  
  
Jin grumbled and moved to his bedroom still rubbing his aching neck. His back hurt as well but it wasn’t something a good night of sleep wouldn’t fix.

 

  
* * * Wednesday - Day Three * * *

  
With the new day, things started to get more complicated. From early morning it was raining so being a responsible father he was, Jin didn’t let Theia go outside. The girl was quite grumpy because of it. She was also louder than usually and a bit moody. Jin had to entertain her by pretending to be a horse, walking on all fours for at least two hours, and by dancing like in the music videos that were playing at the moment. It was a tough job – Jin hadn’t been sweating and aching that much since he was a college student going to crazy all-night parties.  
  
On the other hand, Theia was very happy with her father’s performances. She was laughing and clapping her hands while bouncing on the sofa. More often than not she would squeal happily and ask for ‘one more time’ - ‘one more time’ turning quickly into ‘ten more times’.  
  
Kazuya was amused by Jin’s efforts but at the same time he saw a different side of his employer. The man was patient and very gentle towards his daughter. He was careful when giving her a piggyback and concerned when she tripped by accident. But what really made Kazuya like Jin at least a bit was the smile that adorned the man’s face while he was taking care of his little girl. Kame had no doubts that Theia was Jin’s entire world. Finally, he could understand a bit why Jin was so desperately trying to make him quit – he was worried, or maybe rather jealous, that his daughter would love Kazuya more than him.  
  
Kame knew that Jin was a hardworking man. He couldn’t spend as much time with Theia as he would like to so he was afraid that one day he and Theia would grow apart. When Meisa choose Kazuya as a babysitter, the fear grew even bigger. If he was a woman, it would be okay – if Theia got attached to her, it wouldn’t change her relationship with her father much. But Kazuya was a man and it meant that the girl could start to think of him as a father. With Jin being busy, it could happen and seeing as on the first day the young man was able to calm her down with a few sweet words and a hug, made Jin insecure.  
  
Kazuya came back to Earth when he heard a loud whine coming from his left. He shook his head and moved his eyes to check the situation. Theia was pouting and puffing out her cheeks, angrily furrowing her thin eyebrows. Jin was kneeling in front of her, trying his best to make her brighten up. He gave up after a few minutes, when the girl climbed on the sofa and hugged Kazuya’s waist hiding her face from her father. Jin sighed and ran a hand through his hair.  
  
Jin looked up at Kazuya expecting to see the man laughing or smirking but instead he found the man focusing on the girl. Kazuya was patting the girl’s back gently trying to coax her to look at him. He wasn’t successful as well but, to Jin’s surprise, he didn’t get mad or disheartened by the lack of response. Kame stopped talking to the girl but never stopped his movements. From time to time he was combing her hair lightly, letting her calm down on her own. Soon the girl fell asleep and Kame brought her up to her room glancing at Jin for permission to do so first.  
  
Jin had to admit he was surprised Kame reacted that way even if it made him feel insecure again. He needed to come up with something for the afternoon. He was sure the girl would get grumpy again but his ideas ended some time ago. When the realization dawned on Jin, he knew it was time for plan ‘B’. He checked if Kazuya wasn’t going down then quickly pulled out his cell phone and dialed a familiar number. He smirked when the line connected and he heard a bored voice of his friend – his luck hadn’t left him just yet.

  
*

  
Just like Jin predicted, Theia wasn’t in the best mood after waking up. Thankfully, just when Theia was ready to throw another tantrum, the bell rang making the girl turn towards it in interest. Jin smiled and rushed to the door leaving a surprised Kazuya with Theia in the living room. He came back a minute later with their guest – a short man with black hair – to whom Theia ran immediately squealing happily. Kazuya watched the scene with interest and slight confusion.  
  
“Ryo-jichan!” Theia hugged the man tightly before taking his hand and pulling him towards Kazuya. She stopped in front of the man and turned to look at her uncle proudly. “Ryo-jichan, this is Kazu-nii. He’s the best! He plays with me every day when papa’s busy and he bought me a turtle!” She exclaimed excitedly making everyone smile at her cute antics. Ryo was a bit puzzled though. When did Jin agree to buy Theia a living animal? His puzzlement had to be seen on his face because Kame quickly started explaining.  
  
“It’s just a plushy turtle. I’m Kamenashi Kazuya, Theia-chan’s babysitter.” The man bowed after introducing himself.  
  
“Nishikido Ryo. Jin’s best friend.” Ryo eyed a man for a moment making Kazuya squirm a little. Kame felt uncomfortable being scrutinized by the older in such an intense way. It was like meeting Akanishi for the second time. “You look like a first year college student. Did you really have any previous experience with children? No wonder Jin’s saying Meisa lost her mind when you look like a kid yourself.” Ryo asked raising one of his eyebrows. Kazuya smiled nicely feeling that he would have to deal not only with Jin now but with this Nishikido guy as well.  
  
“I’m 23 and yes, I have experience with taking care of children. Please, don’t worry Nishikido-san.”  
  
Ryo hummed in understanding still glaring at the man but a tugging on his sleeve made him look down. Theia was puffing her cheeks at her uncle. Ryo ignored her for a bit too long. The man smirked and quickly grabbed the small girl bringing her closer to kiss her face. Theia giggled and tried to push Ryo’s face away. In revenge the man held her higher and spun her a few times. The girl was giggling and squealing loudly.  
  
Meanwhile, Jin brought a few toys to the living room along with a few pieces of paper and crayons. Passing by his bedroom, Jin decided to take his camera as well. Most of the time he couldn’t get any good pictures of his little sweetheart. The girl was very fast and lively, hiding and running away from him, when he wanted to take a photo of her. Now, when Ryo was here it was the perfect opportunity to take some without the girl knowing about it.  
  
Kame was standing at the side. He was surprised to see Nishikido but it didn’t take him long to figure out that the man was a part of his employer’s plan to win their bet. It was strange that the man appeared when Theia was getting bored – Kazuya didn’t believe it might be a coincident. When Akanishi came back downstairs Kame took him aside to talk.  
  
“May I know why Nishikido-san is here? And don’t tell me he came because he simply wanted to. I don’t believe it.” Jin rolled his eyes a bit but a small smirk was playing on his lips.  
  
“You’ve never said I can’t bring a friend to help me a bit. It’s normal that Theia’s uncles visit her, right? You can’t really blame me for asking Ryo to come. Theia’s happy to play with him. It’s been a while since she had.” Kazuya stared at the man for a moment before sighing. He was right. There was no rule forbidding his employer from bringing people over and as long as the girl had fun, everything was okay.  
  
“Fine but remember that _you_ are Theia’s guardian. If I see that your friend is taking care of her instead of you, you lose.”  
  
“Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m still her father if you forgot about it. I’m not going to let her out off my sight.”  
  
Jin answered annoyed and went away bumping his shoulder with Kamenashi’s. He didn’t like how the younger man treated him, as if he was incompetent. He can take care of his daughter just right. Thank you very much! Jin huffed before he smiled widely hurrying to where his girl and Ryo were playing house with a few plushy toys.  
  
Kazuya went to the room as well a bit displeased with the current situation. He was worried that Akanishi can actually win their bet. It wasn’t about his job, even if he needed it badly, but about Theia’s health. The girl got attached to him and if he was to quit his job, she might have hard time letting him go… and he might as well. It was a bit hard to admit but Kazuya would miss the little girl a lot. He was spending almost whole days with her and before he knew it, he stopped thinking of her as his job. She was more of a family to him now. Maybe not a daughter but something relatively close to it, like a niece or something similar. Leaving her would be one of the hardest things in his life.

  
*

  
The day came to an end. Ryo played with Theia until her bedtime. Kazuya was a bit surprised how Nishikido looked relaxed afterwards despite his obvious tiredness – keeping up with a hyperactive three year old girl wasn’t easy. He had a feeling that the man had a really stressful job and being with Theia was like a breath of fresh air for him. His opinion was confirmed when he heard Nishikido whistling happily when the man was going to his car. Kazuya passed by him on his way home, bowing lightly. The man, despite his hostility towards the younger, bowed back before disappearing inside his car. Kazuya watched the vehicle pull off before going his own way. At that moment his phone made a noise. Kazuya looked at the screen, reading the message. He smiled softly putting the phone back into his pocket before he strolled down the street in quick steps.

  
*

  
Jin took lots of pictures of and with his little sweetheart. Theia, being a very energetic child, liked to run away from Jin when he tried to take a photo of her and it was even harder to take a picture with both of them together on it. With Ryo visiting today, Akanishi had a great opportunity to finally fill in the family album. Jin checked the pictures for the last time before putting the camera on his desk. If everything goes as planned, he will need it again on the next day as well.

 

  
* * * Thursday - Day Four ***

  
When Kamenashi arrived at the Akanishi mansion, he was surprised to see Theia in the arms of an unknown man. His first thought was to snatch the girl away and call the police but the loud laughter and squeals of happiness stopped him. It was obvious that everything was perfectly fine and the weird, pink wearing man wasn’t a stranger. In fact the guy was hugging Theia in the way an eager kid squishes its favorite teddy bear – with way too much affection.  
  
Theia spotted her babysitter almost immediately after the man turned a bit to the side giving the girl a better sight of the main gate. The child called for Kame loudly and made the mysterious guy carry her to Kazuya. Being close enough the girl bent forward to wrap her small arms around Kame’s neck. Afraid that Theia can fall because of her eagerness to be held by him, Kazuya quickly took her from the other’s man embrace. The guy seemed to be reluctant to give her over to the babysitter at first but not because he wasn’t trusting Kame, which made Kazuya feel better after Nishikido-san’s visit the day before, but because he just simply wanted to squish the girl some more. Kazuya smiled at the man’s sullen face – he looked a bit like a kicked puppy.  
  
“Kazu-nii, good morning!”  
  
“Good morning, Theia-chan. I’m surprised you’re up so early. Did you eat your breakfast?”  
  
“Un! Papa woke me up and we ate together with uncle Pi!”  
  
“Uncle Pi?” Kazuya looked at the man in front of him.  
  
“Yamashita Tomohisa. But you can call me Yamapi or Pi. Nice to meet you. You must be Kamenash, right? Theia-chan was talking about you for the whole breakfast. She told me about her new plushy friend Mr. Kame, ne, Theia-chan?” The man gave him a small smirk.  
  
“Un!” The girl nodded happily. Meanwhile Kame bowed slightly in a greeting.  
  
“Nice to meet you too, Pi. Kamenashi Kazuya, Theia-chan’s babysitter.”  
  
Kazuya wanted to ask the man a few questions but the moment he opened his mouth to speak, Jin came out of the house and walked up to them. He announced that today they will go on a picnic. The weather was certainly nice so Kame didn’t oppose to the idea, on the contrary he had a feeling that with Pi tagging along it would be the best day of the whole bet-week.

  
*

  
Kazuya sat on the blanket. Jin was chasing Theia around, her loud squeals of enjoyment echoed through the park making passersby look at the running pair. Kame smiled at the sight. No matter how much the father and him didn’t get along, he still was happy to see the duo playing cutely in front of him. Every parent with a child made him smile. For Kame there was nothing more beautiful than the love shared between family members.  
  
A soft movement on his right made him look away from the pair. Pi, who was taking pictures until now, sat next to him. They both watched Akanishi family in silence for a moment before Pi moved his gaze to stare at the babysitter. He caught Kazuya’s attention rather quickly as the younger man was still slightly conscious of the other man’s presence.  
  
“So… a babysitter… It’s an unusual job for a man. Any reasons why you took it?” Yamashita asked eyeing Kazuya with interest. It wasn’t a suspicious gaze though so Kame relaxed a bit.  
  
“Hm… I think I’ve always like kids. I had a good contact with them, I knew how take care of them, how to talk to them. I was helping to look after toddlers and primary school kids and, surprisingly I liked it even if at some point I was scared I’m not good enough to have a child in my arms. But it wasn’t my job until recently. Some things didn’t go as planned for me and at some point I had to resign from my previous job. When I saw Kuroki-san’s job ad, I’ve decided to try my luck. I had a bit of experience and thought that it might be a good time to do something I’m actually not so bad at.” Kazuya laughed at his own words while Pi smiled. Hearing all the stories from Theia-chan and seeing how attentive Kamenashi was to the girl, it was easy to tell he really did care for the child.  
  
“You know… when I first heard a _guy_ is going to babysit Theia-chan, I was rather unsure if Meisa-chan made a good decision. Jin’s and Ryo’s reactions didn’t help as well but now, when I finally met you, I can tell Theia’s in good hands. It’s obvious she likes you very much. She’s happy. That’s what’s the most important.” Yamapi smiled at Kazuya warmly. The man reciprocated the gesture, feeling better knowing that at least one person didn’t mind him being a babysitter.  
  
“Thank you. I just wish Akanishi-san could see that too. It’s not only the fact that I need this job. Theia-chan is a lovely, smart and amazing girl. It would be very hard for me to just go away and leave her.”  
  
“Don’t worry, Kame-chan. I’m sure Jin will realize what I did soon enough.”  
  
The man patted the slightly shocked man on the shoulder and stood up to go play with Akanishis. Kazuya had no idea how the older man got familiar with him so fast but it didn’t bother him much. It was good to hear some nice words from someone close to the family. Kame wished it was his employer praising him in the same way but the situation looked bad for him. Of course, he was happy Theia’s having a good time being with her father. Unfortunately, it also meant that soon Kazuya would lose his job.

 

  
* * * Friday – Final Day * * *

  
From the moment Kazuya walked into the mansion, he tried very hard to act like he normally would. He didn’t want to make Theia sad, knowing that it might be his last day spent with the little sweetheart. Like the day before, Jin decided they should go to the park. However, this time the man didn’t get any of his friends to come. Kazuya wasn’t sure if he was relieved that he wouldn’t have to face Nishikido-san again or worried to be alone with Akanishi without Yamapi to help him deal with Jin’s wrath.

  
*

  
Despite Kazuya’s worries, Akanishi mostly ignored him for the whole day. Jin only spoke to him when his daughter was around. With every passing hour, Kazuya became more nervous. He tried to relax so Theia-chan wouldn’t notice but he had hard time hiding it from her. There were moments, like the girl asking him if they can go to the zoo some other day, when he felt tears threatening to fall from his eyes.  
  
“Ne, Kazu-nii?”  
  
“Hm? What is it Theia-chan?” He ask her with a smile. How could he not smile seeing such a sweet girl? Impossible.  
  
“Is it true that if you drop the coin into the fountain, your wish will come true?”  
  
“Oh… Do you have a wish, Theia-chan?” Kazuya crouched down to be on an eye-level with the girl. The girl nodded eagerly and waited for him to answer her question. “Well… there are people who believe it is true…”  
  
“And what do you think, Kazu-nii?”  
  
“I think… I think that as long as we believe that our wish will come true, it will work.”  
  
Theia smiled widely at his words and with a squeal run to her father to get a coin. Holding a small piece of metal in her tiny hand, the girl skipped towards the fountain. Akanishi used the moment his daughter was away and walked up to Kazuya who engrossed in watching the child, didn’t see the other man approaching. When he finally realized Jin’s presence next to him, the man had a malicious smile plastered to his face.  
  
“So… five more minutes and I’m going to win,” Jin said victoriously. He looked like a cat that just got itself a huge bowl of the best cream in the world. Kazuya looked at him coldly but didn’t say anything. They stood next to each other observing Theia playing with the water and waiting for the nearby clock to chime and announce the end of their bet.  
  
Kazuya took a deep, calming breath at the sound of the mechanical device. It was over. He could feel moisture in his eyes that was trying to escape from under his eyelids. When he was sure his voice wasn’t going to break while talking, he turned towards his rival and, now ex-, employer.  
  
“Well, that’s the end then.”  
  
“Yes, and you lose. I hope you’re ready to say ‘bye-bye’ to your job.” Jin was smirking, obviously proud that he finally managed to get rid of the hated guy.  
  
“It only proves that you’re a good father. Now, when I see you are able to take care of Theia on your own I don’t need to worry that something happens to her when I’m gone.” Kame gave the slightly baffled man a small smile. “It’s good to know she is loved so much and even better to know that you’re not one of those rich parents that prefer to hire anyone that fits description just so they don’t have to ‘waste’ time with their own children.”  
  
“Um… t-thanks…” Jin was abashed by Kazuya’s attitude, expecting the man to be either angry or begging on his knees to let him stay. After all, from what Meisa had told him, the man was desperately in need for a job.  
  
“I will go now. Please, explain everything to Theia-chan properly. Good-bye, Akanishi-san.”  
  
Kazuya bowed with a sad smile and Jin in his surprised state nodded without saying a single word. Kamenashi turned around on his heels and start walking slowly towards the main gate of the park. He took a few steps before he heard the voice of the small girl behind himself. He bit on his lower lip, trying hard not to rush away suspiciously. It was better if Theia-chan didn’t see that something’s not right and to achieve that he had to be calm and act normal.  
  
Theia ran up to her father when she noticed her babysitter walking away. She didn’t know what’s going on since her Kazu-nii was always going home with them to make sure she was okay. She was confused that the man she got attached to was leaving now of all times without even saying ‘bye’ to her. Theia pulled on her father’s shirt.  
  
“Papa, why Kazu-nii is going away? Is he going home? Why he didn’t say ‘bye’ to me?” The girl’s innocent eyes asking for answers made Jin feel uncertain. He knew how much Theia loved the younger man.  
  
“You see… Kamenashi-san won’t be your babysitter anymore.”  
  
“Why?” Theia’s lip started trembling lightly.  
  
“Don’t worry, sweetheart. We will find a new babysitter for you.” Jin tried to hug his little girl but the Theia pushed his hands away.  
  
“Was Theia a bad girl, that’s why Kazu-nii doesn’t want to stay with me anymore?”  
  
“No, of course not, it’s just that…” The girl didn’t let him finish.  
  
“Is it Papa’s fault? Papa didn’t like Kazu-nii, right?”  
  
“Um… i-it’s not… I did like him, but…”  
  
“Papa’s lying! Papa was always trying to make Kazu-nii go away! You’re the worst, I hate Papa!” Theia screamed through her tears before running away from Jin. The man stood there shocked at his daughter’s outburst. It was the first time he saw her acting this way. Never before she told him she hates him, not even when he refused to bring her to favorite grandma’s house although he had promised her a week earlier they would visit the lady.  
  
When Jin finally realized what was going on, Theia was no longer in sight. Jin could feel a lump in his throat growing and making it hard to breath. He quickly ran in the direction he thought Theia disappeared from his sight. He tried to call her but the girl either didn’t hear him or decided not to answer. With every minute passing, Jin was getting more scared. A lot of horrible images invaded his mind – Theia getting hit by the car, Theia drowning, Theia being kidnapped by some pedophile. Jin was running, frantically looking for the girl until he bumped into someone. He wanted to keep searching for his daughter by a grip on his wrist made him stop.  
  
Kazuya felt someone knocking into him. He looked to his side to tell the person off for not apologizing. He was surprised when he recognized in a man his ex-employer. He grabbed the man’s hand to stop him, ready to ask why he’s in a such rush but when he saw Jin’s haunted look, he knew something was terribly wrong.  
  
“Akanishi-san? What’s wrong?”  
  
“Theia…” Jin muttered trying to pull his hand free but Kazuya didn’t let him escape.  
  
“What’s with Theia-chan?” Kazuya prodded, now probably as worried as the father of the small girl.  
  
“She told me she hates me. She ran away when I told her you won’t come anymore.” Jin was white as a ghost and trembling heavily. Kame’s eyes widened, his skin paled. “We need to find her. Please, help me. Help me find my sweet little girl.” Jin’s voice was desperate.  
  
Kazuya was shocked seeing the man in this state. He nodded quickly and they split to search more places. Kame rushed towards the fountain, hoping that Theia-chan decided to come back. He stopped when he reached the place and looked around. He cursed when he didn’t spot the girl anywhere. His mind was going on full speed thinking of places where Theia-chan might hid herself. He was on the verge of giving up and just randomly running around the park when something clicked. He rushed in the direction of a small pond located in the less frequented part of the park. He remembered taking there the girl once to see ducks and their ducklings. Theia-chan seemed very happy being able to feed the little ones with small pieces of bread.  
  
It took him a few minutes to get to the place but he felt a weight being lifted from his heart when he saw the girl crouching in front of the pond. She was hugging her small knees and sniffing loudly. She looked up at the sound of rustling. When she saw Kazuya standing a few steps away she ran to him with a cry. She hugged the man tightly. Kame reciprocated the gesture feeling relieved. He lifted the girl and start going back. Still holding the girl he pulled out his phone and called Akanishi. They decided to meet at the gate to the park. When Kazuya reached the place, Jin was already there walking back and forth. The moment his eyes landed on the two of them, Jin stormed towards Kazuya to take a hold of his daughter. Jin’s heart broke when Theia refused to let go of the younger man.  
  
“No! Theia-chan doesn’t want Papa! Papa’s a bad man! Theia hates papa! He wants to take Kazu-nii away from me!”  
  
The girl was still crying hard and both men were having troubles with containing their own tears. Kazuya tried to calm her down by patting her back gently but not matter what he did or told her, she didn’t believe him. Kazuya looked at Jin who seemed at the same time shocked, sad and resigned – he simply didn’t know what to do.  
  
Kazuya sighed and kneeled on the ground putting the girl down. She looked at him sniffling loudly. She was clutching his shirt hard, afraid he will leave her. He smiled reassuringly and somehow Theia-chan’s cries lessened a bit. It didn’t mean that she wasn’t crying but she could see that her Kazu-nii wanted her to listen to him.  
  
“Don’t cry. You’re a big girl. Big girls don’t cry, ne?” He wiped the girl’s tears away. “Theia-chan, your dad wants what’s the best for you, you know? He takes care of you and plays with you. You were happy being able to eat meals with him, right?” The girl nodded after a second or two of hesitation. “Then you shouldn’t tell him you hate him. You love him very much, I’m sure of it.”  
  
“B-but… Papa… he m-made you go. I want Kazu-nii to t-take care of me. I love Kazu-nii.” The girl sniffed loudly, new tears escaping her beautiful glassy eyes. Kazuya hugged her and rocking her lightly back and forth.  
  
“Shhh… Everything’s going to be okay, I promise.”  
  
“B-but…”  
  
“I love you too, Theia-chan, but your Papa is worried about you and wants to make sure you’re safe. You should listen to him. I know he will find someone who’s going to take care of you and love you as much as I do. And I know you will love that person too. You’re dad might be a big baka but his has great friends, your uncles. You love your uncles, right?”  
  
“Y-yes…” The girl mumbled while lowering her eyes to the ground.  
  
“Look at me, please.” Theia raised her head reluctantly. “Don’t be so sad, smile for me. Such a pretty girl needs to smile.” The girl gave a weak smile. “See? Much better. Now, promise me you will listen to your dad and will be nice to the new babysitter, okay? You’re a good girl.”  
  
Theia wounded her arms around the man’s neck and let out a soft sad sob. Kazuya hugged her back tightly before releasing his hold and standing up with a small smile on his face. Jin immediately lifted his daughter up as she moved to him and grabbed his shirt. He bid farewell to Kamenashi and the two men went into opposite directions, towards their own houses.  
  
All the way to the gate Jin was gazing at his little sweetheart. Despite calming down, the girl was still sobbing. The smile that was almost permanent on her plump pinkish face was now gone, just like the day Meisa went to United States. Jin bit his lip. It was hard to watch the girl being so tired, gloomy and apathetic. Her laugh was always happy, making him enjoy every day. She was able to change his mood in an instant only by showing her smiling face to him after an exhausting day. He was afraid what would happen if that smile got lost? Would she ever smile again? Would he be able to see his darling running happily in the garden and bringing him a flower with a big grin on her tiny face?  
  
Jin spoon around and with quick steps made his way towards the other exit of the park. He hoped it’s not too late to bring that happy expression back. He sped up. He almost ran when he saw the slender young man that he fired not even an hour ago. Without thinking he called out to the younger making him turn around with a scared look on his face. Kazuya quickly relaxed though and Jin realized that he thought that something happened to Theia again. The man looked confused. He didn’t know why Jin stopped him but even Jin himself wasn’t sure what he was doing, the only thing he did know was that Kamenashi Kazuya was the key – to what? Who knows…  
  
“Kamenashi, wait.” Jin came closer. He took a deep breath and looked the man straight in the yes. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for firing you. I was wrong, I admit that. I can see that you care for my daughter very much. You helped me search for her and everything… And I’m not blind, Theia’s happy when you’re with her – that’s the most important for me.” Kazuya was watching him in surprise but didn’t say anything so Jin continued. “I know we weren’t on the best terms and it’s mostly my fault, I know, but… would you agree to work for me again, please?” Theia, hearing her father’s words looked at Kazuya hopefully. She wanted him back. Kazuya was looking between the two Akanishis, his mind analyzing all pros and cons. Finally his gaze lay on Jin.  
  
“Okay.”  
  
That simple answer made Theia squeal in delight and reach out her hands towards the man. Jin realized a breath he didn’t even know he was holding. When he saw Theia hugging Kamenashi with such a bright look on her face, the weight was lifted from his heart. As long as his sweetheart was safe and sound, nothing else mattered. And Kamenashi? Maybe he wasn’t as bad as Jin had thought he was but to make sure Jin decided he needs to know the man more. This time there would be no sabotages, no stupid plans, just simple observing and normal conversations. Jin wanted to make Theia happy and apparently befriending Kamenashi Kazuya was a very good start.


	5. Jin the Spy

  **Chapter 4: Jin the Spy**

  
Akanishi looked at his reflection in the mirror. Drops of water were slowly making a way down his face. Jin sighed a bit shakily. He felt nervous. It was the day he would face Kamenashi for the first time after last week incidents. Jin had already apologized to the man for being a nuisance but it didn’t mean they were alright. The father was still worried despite seeing himself how Kamenashi treated Theia with utmost care. To calm his nerves and anxious heart, Jin had washed his face with cool water but the slight trembling in his breath didn’t disappear completely.  
  
The man exited his bathroom and changed clothes, getting ready to go to work. The studios at his workplace had got repaired which meant that the studio at his own office was already free and he could go back there to work. Jin had never liked working at home saying that ‘home is home, work is work’ but with the new babysitter around, he felt the need to stay home a bit longer. He couldn’t do that though. Not until he checked how far behind the schedule they were. And the only place where he could do that was his workplace.  
  
Jin came down and went straight to the kitchen. He wasn’t exactly prepared to see Kamenashi already there so the moment Jin entered the room, he stopped dead in his tracks and stared at the younger man with an expression similar to that of a goldfish. It took him a few seconds to go back to earth. He made an awkward face and greeted the babysitter with some blurred ‘good morning’. The other man smiled as awkwardly as Jin felt and nodded a silent in a greeting.  
  
Kazuya watched as Jin sat and ate his breakfast in silence. He felt a bit uncomfortable. Just a few days ago Jin had been glaring at him and doing everything so the younger man would quit; even trying to pick up verbal fights with him. Now, he was just sitting there without a word and that made Kame feel weird. He wondered if every of their future meetings would look the same.  
  
Jin finished eating, thanked for the meal and exited the house while saying his goodbyes. He looked stiff and only relaxed when he found himself in confines of his car and knew that he wouldn’t meet the babysitter for a few next hours. Taking one last deep breath, Jin started the engine and drove to work, all this time thinking how to get that anxiousness out of his system.

   
* * *

  
Jin walked into his office and immediately started to check the reports left on his desk by his secretary. Upon checking the documents thoroughly, Jin was a bit surprised. It seemed that despite the two studios being out of use for the last weeks, they had managed to finish almost all of the projects scheduled for that time. Only one or two artist had to be rescheduled because of the lack of a place to record their new pieces. Thankfully, both artists weren’t in a rush as their new albums were supposed to be released in more than a year.  
  
Jin smiled, proud of having such great staff that were able not only to repair the studios in barely two weeks but also because they were so devoted to their work that there was no visible delay in the timetable. Jin felt a bit bad though. He had worked while staying at his house but he was aware that if he had accepted Kamenashi right from the start, he would have done much, _much_ more.

   
* * *

  
Jin signed the last of the papers. He yawned widely and stretched his sore shoulders. He was a bit bored after looking over all the documents. He was stiff from sitting in one position for four or five hours but work had to be done. There were lots of bad things someone could tell about Jin but not that he’s not hard-working. He wasn’t a workaholic but when it came to his job he was as serious as when it came to Theia’s well-being – of course, if you forgot the whole ‘babysitting problem’; that one didn’t count.  
  
Jin closed his eyes and let himself relax a bit. He wasn’t exactly successful. The image of the babysitter almost immediately came to his mind. The atmosphere at breakfast was rather unnatural and Jin knew it. He needed to do something but despite his best intentions, Jin was still wary about Kamenashi. The man was good, Theia loved him, Nakagawa-san spoke warmly about him and Meisa seemed not to worry but Jin… There was something in his mind that made him feel… weird – that would be the world. It was a feeling, Jin couldn’t describe. Some kind of familiarity but also excitement mixed with uncertainty. It was at least confusing but also frustrating. Jin didn’t know that feeling… or didn’t remember it; he couldn’t really tell. What he knew was that the best way to get to terms with it, was to accept Kamenashi in his life. Taking care of Theia, he would be around Jin a lot as well so the quicker Jin gets used to him, the better.  
  
Jin looked at the clock. It was only two in the afternoon but Jin realized in surprise that his work was done for the day. That made Jin thinking. When he was away the work was actually going pretty good – no real problems occurred and the workers didn’t seem any more stressed than usually. Jin wondered if maybe it was a time to change a few things in the company. A few new workers, new musicians and new studios might increase the profit and maybe, just maybe, Jin and all the other staff wouldn’t have to spend so many hours at work. There were times when they worked ten hours per day to make everything perfect. Jin even used to spend twelve hours if there was a need. Changing that would be great but first Jin needed to talk about it with his advisers. After all, he was just a producer not an economist or someone like that.  
  
Jin, not seeing a reason to stay longer as his work was done, said goodbye to his secretary and went out of the building. He was anxious about meeting Kamenashi again so he once again decided to ask his two best friends for a little encouragement. Thankfully, the two were rather free these days and any kind of opportunity to get out of their homes were accepted in the blink of an eye.

   
* * *

  
Pi and Ryo made their order and sat at Jin’s table. They could see that their friend was troubled by something and they didn’t need to be geniuses to know what, or rather who, made Jin so quiet and serious. It had to be something about Theia and the babysitter; there was just no other option.  
  
“Hey, Jin. What is it this time? Did you prank Kamenashi again? Because seriously, the guy’s not that bad you know?” Pi started, ready to defend the babysitter if Jin still had something against the young man.  
  
“Oh, hi. No, I didn’t prank him. And I kind of know now that Kamenashi is not bad but…” Jin stopped suddenly, looking for the best words to describe his worries.  
  
“What ‘but’? The cow didn’t eat your tongue so tell us what’s wrong. I have no intentions waiting a century until you decide to speak.” Ryo said as he wasn’t the most patient person; not when it came to Jin who not once woke him up at four in the morning to tell him the stupidest of all his plans.  
  
“Sorry, Ryo. It’s just that… I know that Kamenashi is okay but I have hard time accepting it. I’ve met the guy in the morning and it was really awkward. I don’t want it to be that way but I am still uncertain about him. I know it’s stupid after all that happened but… I just can’t stop feeling weird about the whole ‘male babysitter’ arrangement. What should I do? I really want to get on well with him for Theia’s sake.” Jin’s lower lip protruded and he gave his friends the best puppy eyes expression he could actually muster.  
  
“Stop, Jin. Really. That puppy eyes kill me every time. And not because of their supposed cuteness. That’s just weird, dude.” Yamapi cringed and Jin sent the man a glare.  
  
“Listen, Jin. I will make it quick. If you want to stop being all awkward with the situation, you should observe Kamenashi for a bit,” Ryo said a bit annoyed with his friend’s worries – all the drama was not needed.  
  
“But I already did that! I observed him when I was trying to get rid of him so how observing him _now_ would help anything?” Jin protested giving Ryo another headache and a desire to smack him in the head. _Hard_.  
  
“Yes, you moron. You did. But back then he was an enemy to you. You concentrated on searching for his bad points so all the good ones didn’t register in this thick head of yours. This time you need to focus on the side of him that actually makes him the best babysitter Theia could have.” Pi and Jin stared at the man with a surprise mixed with awe.  
  
“Wow… Ryo-chan, I didn’t know you could be so smart. I’m so proud of you!” Yamapi exclaimed and with a big, creepy smile hugged his friend tightly.  
  
“Get off of me, you idiot. Everyone knows that from the three of us I’m the smartest. You only make problems from nothing.” Ryo rolled his eyes while the other two protested.  
  
The trio bickered for a few more minutes. During that time Jin’s heart became a bit lighter. It was fun to meet with friends and just simply fool around. He almost forgot about his problems. ‘Almost’ being here the key word, of course. But even then, Jin knew that everything’s going to be okay. Ryo was right. Observing Kamenashi once again, this time with a clear head, was a good idea. Also maybe it would be good to spend some time with both Theia and the babysitter? This way he would get to know the man a bit more and maybe the awkwardness would slowly disappear? But one thing at the time. First observe, and then act.

  
_* * *_

  
Jin entered his mansion and gulped. There was no sight of Theia or Kamenashi but Jin knew sooner or later he would have to face his daughter and her babysitter. He was nervous. There was still an hour left before the man’s duty comes to an end. Jin could send the man home earlier, of course, but if he was supposed to check how the guy works, he needed him to be here with Theia. Jin was sure that if had sent the man home now, he would chicken out every other time as well. It was better to just go right with the plan.  
  
Jin silently took of his shoes. He carefully peeped around the corner. There was no one in sight so he silently climbed up the stairs to his room. Passing by Theia’s bedroom, Jin stopped and listened. From the noise coming out of the room he could tell that Kamenashi and Theia were currently playing inside. Knowing his daughter, Jin assumed she had decided to ask her babysitter on a tea party.  
  
Jin chuckled at the thought and went to change his clothes. He came back to the door of Theia’s little kingdom a few minutes later. Jin took a deep breath to calm his nerves and knocked. The voices fell silent. A sound of footsteps coming from behind the door, made Jin fidgeted. His cute daughter appeared in the doorway and looked at him in surprise. Jin smiled brightly seeing the confused expression.  
  
“Daddy? Okaeri!” Finally Theia registered who knocked on her door and greeted her father with a big smile and a happy hug.  
  
“Tadaima,” Jin answered with a chuckle before nodding to the babysitter that was sitting on the floor in front of the children’s violet table. In her rush to greet her father, Theia pushed the door opening it completely. “I see you have a tea party here.”  
  
“Yes and Kazu-nii is my guest! We have cookies and looots of tea!” Theia explained happily.  
  
“Is that so? And what about Papa? Am I invited?”  
  
“Hm… I don’t know. Papa’s always eating all the cookies himself.” Jin’s jaw dropped at the statement and he stuttered trying to protest. He stopped though hearing a muffled snort. He looked at Kamenashi and saw the man covering his mouth with a hand. It was obvious the man tried to contain his laughter the best he could but the amused sparkles in his eyes remained.  
  
“Come on, princess. Let Papa join. I promise I won’t eat everything.” Theia pondered for a moment, tapping her finger on her lips. It was rather comical seeing a girl thinking so intensely about whether or not she should let her father in.  
  
“Okay,” the girl agreed and skipped to her own place. Jin closed the door and sat on the floor in front of Kamenashi. “Would you like some tea, Papa?” She asked politely like a real lady or princess would.  
  
“Yes, thank you very much.” Jin took the small cup and took a sip. He knew that if he drank the whole cup at ones, Theia would scold him for not having good manners. “Um~, it’s a splendid tea. What flavor is it?”  
  
“It’s green tea with mandarin and orange.” Theia answered while drinking from her own small cup. “There’s a special ingredient in it too.”  
  
“Oh, what is it?”  
  
“It’s a secret~” Theia smiled widely. “Would you like another cup, Kazu-nii?”  
  
“With pleasure. It’s indeed the best cup of tea I’ve had and the cookies are delicious as well.”  
  
“Thank you.” Theia bowed like a princess from fairy tales.  
  
Their tea party lasted until the last cookie disappeared from the plate (obviously eaten by a ‘cookie monster’ Jin) and the teapot was empty. Theia frowned cutely and ordering the two men to wait went out of the room. Both Jin and Kazuya fidgeted nervously not sure what to do with themselves.  
  
“Um… Since you’re home maybe I should go, Akanishi-san?” Kame said already standing up but he was stopped by Jin.  
  
“Wait!” Kame looked at the older a bit startled but didn’t move. Jin, surprised by his own outburst, looked frantically around the room. Finally he cleared his throat. ”You should stay. Theia would be unhappy if you left now. She might think I bullied you again,” Jin said, clumsily trying to justify his strange behavior. Kame blinked at the response before giving out an amused smile.  
  
“Right, bullied. We can’t let the poor girl hate her own father, can we?” Kame answered playfully. Now Jin was the one confused by the sudden comment. Usually, the babysitter was pretty tense when Jin was present. Somehow the atmosphere around them was slightly lighter than normally. Jin had to thank his daughter later for it. She unconsciously helped him with his scheme.  
  
Yeah, his girl would get a big portion of ice-cream for dessert today.

  
* * *

  
It took Jin two days to find himself a replacement for a few days. Good thing Ryo was free and willing to help. Well… he only became willing when Jin promised him a paid month-long vacation afterwards but it didn’t really matter. He could go on with his plan without worrying about his work. Ryo was one of the best producers and his left hand (his right hand was Yamapi but the man wanted in exchange a week-long vacation with Theia by his side and that was something Jin couldn’t agree to) when it came to business stuff.  
  
The next day, in the morning, Jin pretended to go to work like usual. He went out of the house and drove away to park his car on the other side of the road behind a huge bush – a direction in which surprisingly Kamenashi never went. The spot was great not only for hiding but also for observing. Jin had the best view of the porch and front door. He just needed to wait for Kamenashi to take Theia for a stroll.  
  
While he waited, Jin took out his grey coat, sunglasses and a hat from the trunk and put it on. He wanted to be ready. He didn’t want to lose the sight of them only because he didn’t manage to wear his ‘spying’ clothes on time.  
  
Jin didn’t have to wait long. An hour later the door opened and the babysitter came out with Theia attached to his hand. The girl was happily skipping next to the man. Jin silently got out of the car and went after the pair. Once in a while he ducked behind some trees or bushes when he thought Kamenashi or Theia looked in his direction.

 

* * *

  
The waitress at the popular cafe kept glancing nervously towards one of the table’s placed outside in front of the huge window. The customer sitting at that particular table was gobbling down cake after cake for the last two hours which meant that he was there since the beginning of the morning shift. The fifteen plates were piled up in pile in the middle of the table while three new orders were waiting for consumption around the ceramic tower. The man’s stomach seemed to be bottomless. It was sickening to just watch him eat all of the cakes and the waitress wondered if she should take another order from him or call the doctor in case the customer had a heart attack.  
  
While the waitress was battling with herself. The man ate another piece of café’s famous chocolate volcano cake. Despite eating all those delicious pastries, a dark cloud was still hanging above his head. He pouted, propped his head in his palm and started maltreating another sweet piece of heaven with his fork. When the cake looked more like melted ice-cream than anything solid, the man shoved it whole in his mouth.  
  
“Why… why Jin wouldn’t choose me? I just wanted to spend some time with Theia-chan as a payment while Ryo wanted full month of paid-vacations,” Yamapi complained to himself. He was sitting in the café since it opened in the morning. After Jin’s rejection of his help, Pi felt gloomy. When he woke up, he really craved for something sweet that would make him feel better but even after eaten a mountain of different pastries, he still was disappointed and whiny. He wanted to take his precious, cute, adorable Theia-chan to Disney Land, to the beach, to the zoo and many other places so they could have fun together. But Jin destroyed his dreams.  
  
Yamapi sighed and went to pay for all the caked he managed to serve his stomach. His mood was still sore but at this point more cakes wouldn’t help improving it. He exited the café and went right towards one of the bigger parks in the city. Maybe a nice, long walk would bring him some peace.  
  
When he turned the corner of the next street, his eyes started sparkling at the sight of the well-known little princess and her male babysitter. Pi was ready to call for them to wait for him but the sight of a weirdly familiar figure in dark coat, hat and sunglasses looming from the nearby alley made him change his mind. Instead, he crept closer to the suspicious man. He needed one closer look to recognized the man as his best friend and the father of the little princess. Pi smiled widely making his way towards the older man. When he was right behind him he whispered in his ear.  
  
“What are you doing, Jin-chan?”  
  
Jin jumped with a yelp and quickly ducked into the alley, pulling Pi with him unconsciously. Jin didn’t even realize it was his friend. His instinct told him to hide and bring the other person with him so he wouldn’t be discovered by the babysitter. When he calmed his racing heart, he looked at the person that scared him and his eyes widened.  
  
“Pi?!”  
  
“Hi, Jin! Why are we hiding? Let’s go to Theia-chan!” The younger man said enthusiastically, completely forgetting about his bad mood. When he tried to walk out of the alley, Jin pulled him back with a hiss.  
  
“Not that loud, idiot. Can’t you see I’m spying on them?” Jin whispered looking around himself nervously, afraid the babysitter sensed him and will appear the moment he loses his focus.  
  
“Eh? Why?” Yamapi asked clueless what his friend had on his mind this time.  
  
“Ryo said I should observe Kamenashi so I’m doing it. Now. I don’t want him to know I’m doing it though. We’re already awkward around each other, I don’t need him to hate me too.”  
  
“Ah, okay… Can I join you?” Pi’s eyes sparkled why he looked at his friend half-pleadingly, half-mischievously.  
  
“Why would I let you join?”  
  
“Because it sounds like fun, you already broke my heart while letting Ryo do your job for paid-vacations instead of me for time spend with Theia-chan and if we won’t hurry we will lose Theia-chan and Kamenashi,” Pi said with a smile.  
  
That last argument did the trick. Jin looked around the corner quickly to check if the babysitter was still there. He let out a relieved breath. They were quite away from them but still in sight. Not wanting to lose more time Jin mentioned for Yamapi to follow him and ran out of their hiding spot.  
  
Soon they arrived at the park. Jin realized that Kamenashi took his sweet daughter to the playground. Jin and Pi hid behind one of the trees and watched the situation. Theia let go of Kamenashi’s hand and with a big smile rushed to other children playing under watchful eyes of their parents and guardians. Jin was a bit worried how the babysitter let the girl go just like that but when he looked at the man he relaxed. Kamenashi was observing Theia carefully and made sure to be always close in case the girl tripped or needed his help. His face was one of deep concern but his eyes were soft and affectionate – it was obvious he adored the small princess.  
  
Jin grinned to himself. He was happy that the younger man cared for Theia so much. It made him feel better and he moved his eyes to spy on Theia for a moment. The girl was laughing and running around with other children. They were playing kick-the-can and Theia was chased by one of the boys at the playground. She was squalling happily and laughing loudly. She was very adorable. Actually… too adorable.  
  
Yamapi couldn’t take the girl’s cuteness anymore and moved closer to the group of doting mothers. He quickly managed to get into their conversation and fawned over his favorite niece. The mothers assumed right away that he’s a proud father of the small girl and didn’t find him suspicious at all. Thankfully for him, Kamenashi was too busy looking over Theia-chan to notice his sudden presence.  
  
Jin on the other hand, didn’t even realize that his friend left him. He was so focused on Theia that he forgot his mission. He also forgot that he was currently undercover, clad in dark clothes that hid his face. Not really thinking, Jin took out his camera that was for one reason or another tacked into one of his coat’s pockets, and started snapping pictures of his sweetheart.  
  
Unfortunately for Jin, one of the mothers caught with the corner of her eyes a flash of a light. It brought her attention to the man hiding behind the trees. She gasped in shock before she gave out a frightened scream and started to shout for the police. She was sure the man was a pedophile that wanted to kidnap one of the kids.  
  
“Help! There’s a pedophile! Police! Help! Guard the children!”  
  
Her screams made other mothers hurry to find their children and brought the police over. Jin stood under the tree startled looking frantically around for the sight of the mentioned pedophile but when he saw a policeman running towards him it dawned on him. _He_ was that pedophile the woman saw. Jin wanted to warn Pi to run but when he didn’t see him, Jin just turned around and started running for his dear life. Luckily for him, the cop that was chasing him wasn’t the youngest and Jin, who worked out (even if the results weren’t really that visible on his body), managed to lose a man after jumping over a wall at one of the alleys. On the other side, Jin took the coat and his hat off and ran to his car. He quickly opened the back and threw the items inside. When he was done, he immediately started the car and drove away from the park and straight to his home. He ran to his room and he hid both pieces of clothes at the very bottom of his wardrobe hoping that no one will ever find out what had happened at the park.

 

* * *

  
Kamenashi hearing the woman’s scream didn’t need to think long before quickly walking towards Theia to pick her up. Even though he had his eyes on girl all the time, he sighed in relieve when he had her in his arms. For a moment there his heart stopped beating in fear that something bad may happen to her or one of other children.  
  
Kazuya looked around still having a tight grip on the little girl. He registered police officers chasing someone in a grey coat. He tilted his head to the side and furrowed his eyebrows. The man’s figure seemed familiar to him but he couldn’t tell who it was. Theia-chan also seemed to stare at the back of the running man with curious but not frightened eyes. She was intelligent enough to know that ‘pedophiles’ are bad people that take kids away from their parents but if that coated man was one of them, he didn’t seem scary at all. Soon the man disappeared from her sight.  
  
“I think we should go back, Theia-chan. Sorry,” Kazuya apologize with a small hesitant smile. The girl pouted slightly but she understood the situation. She nodded before averting her eyes from her babysitter. She blinked cutely and pointed for Kamenashi to look.  
  
“Kazu-nii? Isn’t that Pi-jichan?” Kazuya turned his head in surprise. The man Theia was pointing to was already quite away but even from the distance Kazuya could recognize Yamashita’s figure desperately trying to get out of sight.  
  
“What is going on here…” Kazuya muttered under his breath. The situation was more than suspicious. If the other man was in the park, he would surely approach them – he loved Theia-chan almost maniacally. But he didn’t. “What do you say we buy some cakes for dessert on our way home?” Kame asked the girl with a smile, trying to divert her attention. Theia grinned and clapped her hands immediately agreeing to his proposition.  
  
On their way to the bakery, Kazuya thought about the incident in the park. The more he did it, the surer he was something was not right. Pedophiles targeted alone children in a less crowded places. The park today was full of people and the man in his coat and hat was standing out like a sore thumb. Would he really risk being caught in such circumstances? He had to be the biggest idiot Kazuya ever encountered and after meeting Akanishi Jin, Kame didn’t even think that’s possible.

 

* * *

  
When Theia and Kamenashi came back from their walk, the dinner was already prepared and waiting for them. Kazuya was surprised to see also the head of the house already home from work and sitting at the table. The man smiled awkwardly and gestured for his daughter and the babysitter to sit as well. On first instinct Kazuya wanted to decline but Jin’s eyes on him made him change his mind.  
  
“How’s your day, sweetheart?” Jin asked his daughter and the girl perked up ready to tell her dad everything that happened at the park. Kame stiffened, afraid of the man’s reaction when he learns about the mysterious stalker. They just ended one conflict and Kazuya really didn’t want another one.  
  
“I had so much fun! Kazu-nii took me to the park’s playground and I was playing kick-the-can with others. But then some lady said there is a pedophile and Kazu-nii said we need to go back.”  
  
“A pedophile?” Jin asked pretending to be shocked but inside he was praying that the babysitter didn’t recognize him.  
  
“Yes, a pedophile. The police chased him away but Kazu-nii was afraid he might come back. I wanted to play some more.” Theia pouted but brightened at the sight of her favorite strawberry cake being brought from the kitchen by Nakagawa-san.  
  
“Hm… Kamenashi-san only tried to make sure nothing happens to you. I’m glad he took you home,” Jin said a bit nervously. He wanted to be in good terms with the younger man. Kazuya on the other hand looked at Jin in surprise. He knew Akanishi was an impulsive and overprotective man so his calm behavior confused Kame. He flinched slightly when Akanishi turned towards him asking questions.  
  
“Do you know who that pedophile was?”  
  
“No… I haven’t seen his face and the police didn’t seem to catch him as well. I think it would be wise for Theia-chan to stay at home for the next few days.” Jin nodded in agreement but it was a bit stiff. Kazuya blamed it on their still uncomfortable relations and the fact Theia was in danger earlier that day. The real reason of Jin’s behavior was different though. He was relieved the babysitter didn’t know it was him at the park but he felt guilty for making his daughter – and other children as well – sad. He bet that other parents won’t let them go to the park too. “Oh, I would forget. We saw Yamashita-san in the park today, didn’t we?” Kazuya looked at Theia missing the way Jin suddenly jumped in his seat, eyes wide in fear he – they – were exposed.  
  
“Un! Pi-jichan was there but… why didn’t he come to play with me?” The girl furrowed her eyebrows in a cute way and crossed her arms in the way adults did when thinking hard about something.  
  
“Ah? Yamapi? I think he said he had some job to do. Maybe he chose to go through the park?” Jin felt sweat slowly appearing on his forehead.  
  
“And he didn’t even say ‘hi’ to us? I thought he’s crazy for Theia-chan,” Kazuya answered furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.  
  
“Oh, maybe that’s why? I bet he was staring at her for quite a while and then realized he’s late and didn’t approach you because he thought he might gets swept by my sweet girl and forget all about work in the end,” Jin said on one breath trying to justify his friends actions. He also promised himself to kill Pi the next time he sees the man.  
  
“…You might be right, Akanishi-san,” Kazuya finally admitted and Jin sighed inwardly. His luck was especially high today. “Anyway, I wanted to ask; did you finish your job for today or are you going back? I don’t know if I should stay with Theia-chan or…” Kame asked a bit awkwardly. The other man’s frequent presence during his working hours was taking him off guard a lot. He wasn’t sure how he should behave around his employer.  
  
“I’m staying home b-but… um… I have some… some papers to find! Right, papers. Could you take care of Theia for a few more hours, please?” Jin gave out a shy smile, fiddling with his fingers unconsciously.  
  
“Sure…” Kazuya nodded with slight hesitation but didn’t have time to further ponder on Akanishi’s abnormal behavior because Theia-chan grabbed his hand and pulled towards living room where she wanted to draw.  
  
Jin bit his lower lip and decided to go to his room. He needed to pretend he was really going to search some important files. He stayed there about half an hour before he silently exited the bedroom and tiptoed downstairs. He was careful to avoid crashing into something and making a noise. He peeped around the corner to check on the babysitter and his little daughter. This time he told himself not to get distracted by Theia-chan and he was going to keep the promise.  
  
Kamenashi was sitting on the floor in front of Theia. Just like the girl, the man was drawing something. When they both finished their masterpieces, Theia showed hers to the babysitter eagerly explaining what she drew. Then came time for Kamenashi to show his own picture. Theia looked confused staring at the picture and blinking cutely. She couldn’t understand what was drawn on the paper. After Kazuya explained his sketch she was even more disoriented. At the end the girl just shrugged innocently and smiled. Kazuya pouted and complained to the small girl. It was obvious he was just pretending to cheer Theia up. The girl laughed at the man’s expression before coming closer to him to give him a hug. Kazuya took the opportunity and lifted the child to spoon her around a few times. Theia squealed happily. When she was put back down she had a big smile on her face just like her babysitter.  
  
They drew for a few more minutes before Theia got bored. She sneaked to Kamenashi and suddenly started tickling him. The man jumped at the unexpected touch. He looked at Theia who frowned at his lack of response. She looked up and Kazuya gave her a teasing smirk before he attacked her with her own weapon. The girl started laughing hysterically. When she admitted defeat, Kazuya stopped. The girl used this moment to push the man down playfully and sat on his stomach. This time it was Kame who gave up. The girl asked for a reward in the form of a hug. Kazuya added also a kiss to the cheek from himself. The girl seemed to be content with such reward.  
  
Jin observed them the whole time. He managed to ignore his daughter and concentrated on Kamenashi. The man was surprisingly at ease around Theia. He was composed and apparently happy being able to be with a small girl. He had no problems interacting with her and he didn’t need to do much to keep Theia cheerful. It was relaxing just looking at them. Jin was also quite taken by the younger guy’s cute and funny expressions. For a moment there he even thought that the babysitter is almost as cute as his little daughter.  
  
Jin quickly shook his head trying to get the thought out of his mind. He frowned slightly, surprised with his own stupid mind’s delusions. Because it was nothing more than just delusions, right? There was no way he just thought that some _guy_ was _cute_.  
  
While Jin was battling with his own mind, Kamenashi looked up. He was startled at the sight of Akanishi’s head reflecting in one of the windows. Kazuya blinked and the head disappeared. Kame shrugged thinking that he just imagined this but when he looked up a few minutes later he could once again see Akanishi staring at him. He felt chills running on his spine but decided to ignore the man. Akanishi was acting weird for the last few days being exceptionally yielding yet awkward around him. Kazuya wasn’t sure what made the older man act like that but he didn’t think Jin would tell him anyway. He would find out the truth soon enough anyway. The man always had some strange plans up his sleeves and being as stubborn as he was, Kazuya knew the father would do what he wanted to do and after that he would, accidentally or not, reveal everything.

 

* * *

  
A few days later Kazuya came to the conclusion that it wasn’t only his imaginary. Akanishi Jin _really_ was stalking him. Well, ‘stalking’ might be too much of a word but the older man was observing him like a hawk these past few days and it made Kame uncomfortable. It was unsettling, the way the man kept staring when he played with Theia-chan. There was no malice in his eyes but the gaze on him was very intense. Kazuya knew the man was up to something. Nothing happened so far but it made Kame stay on guard every time he managed to spot the older man.  
  
As the feelings of confusion and wariness started to bother him, Kazuya decided it would be the best to ask Nakagawa-san for the advice. The woman knew Akanishi like the back of her hand and Kame hoped she would also know we he should do with his employer watching his every move.  
  
“Um… Nakagawa-san?” Kame hesitantly called out.  
  
“Yes? Is something the matter, dear? You seem stressed these days,” the woman answered looking with soft eyes at the young man she got fond of during last weeks.  
  
“You can say that… It’s about Akanishi-san.”  
  
“And when it’s not?” Nakagawa-san asked with amusement making the man relax.  
  
“Right.” Kazuya smiled – he couldn’t argue with that statement, “Akanishi-san seems to… _observe_ me for the past few days.”  
  
“What do you mean?” The woman’s eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion.  
  
“Well… one time I saw him staring at me when I was playing with Theia-chan in the living room. He was standing behind the wall and I only saw him for a second in the window. I would have thought it was my mind playing tricks on me but it kept repeating. One day I saw him observing me through the mirror and the other I actually heard him muttering something to himself and then spotted him hiding behind a wardrobe. I can’t help but wonder what is he up to? It makes me anxious,” Kazuya explained with tired sigh. Nakagawa-san looked at him deep in thought but a minute later she smiled gently at the younger.  
  
“I don’t think he is planning anything, actually.”  
  
“He’s not?” Kazuya asked in surprise.  
  
“No, he’s not.” The woman chuckled going back to cooking dinner. ”I think he just makes sure Theia is in good hands. Don’t get me wrong though. He already knows that you’re good for his daughter but Jin has a very thick head. Even if he knows you’re a good man, his feelings as a father make him want to be sure it’s true. Don’t worry about it. When his mind accepts you as Theia’s guardian, everything will go back to normal. You will see. A while more and he will stop following you.”  
  
“I hope you’re right,” Kazuya answered feeling rather unsure.  
  
The woman just ruffled his hair with a smile. Kame complained a bit to her but he did it with a small laugh. Nakagawa-san made his less anxious thanks to her words but at the thought of being stared at for another few days didn’t sit well with Kame. The constant feeling of eyes fixated on him unnerved him. He would feel more at ease if the man, instead of hiding behind different type of furniture, simply took part in his and Theia’s activities. This way he could observe Kame how much he wanted and Kazuya wouldn’t need to flinch every time he suddenly spotted the older man staring at him from his hiding place.

   
* * *

  
To Kame’s surprise, the next day Akanishi actually came up to him and Theia-chan and asked if could play with them. Kame’s first reaction was to blink. He was startled that the man heard his conversation with Nakagawa-san. He nodded in agreement though when he remembered that he never told the woman that it would be better if Akanishi was open with his staring.  
  
“Papa will play too?” Theia asked staring at her father with big shining eyes.  
  
“Yup, I’m playing too I just don’t know what we’re going to play yet.” The man simply replied with a big grin.  
  
“Theia-chan wanted to a board game,” Kazuya supplied when he managed to get a grip of himself.  
  
“Hm… then what board game should we play?” Jin asked his little angel.  
  
“’Snakes and Ladders’!” The girl immediately answered throwing her arms in the air enthusiastically.  
  
“Sure, let’s go and find the game.”

 

*

  
After finding the board the happy trio sat around a low table in the Theia’s bedroom and started playing. At first it looked like Akanishi was going to win the game. The man’s pawn as at the top of the board and he just needed to get four on his next roll to become a winner while Theia and Kamenashi were somewhere in the middle. Jin smirked and threw the dice. He grinned when the dice dangerously slowed down almost stopping on the wanted number. Yes, _almost_. In the very last second, like if having her own will, the dice fell to the other side showing two black spots on its white wall. Everyone watched the cube in silence completely baffled by the sudden change. Only when Theia started to yell in happiness her guardians woke up from their trance.   
  
“Aw, come on~! How’s that even possible?! Let me throw it again!” Jin requested heatedly, his eyebrows furrowed and lips pouting. The sight could have been considered cute if the fact that he was using it on his three year old daughter.   
  
“No way! You want to cheat, Papa! Cheating is bad!” The girl looked at her father scolding him.   
  
“But it can’t be two~! I was so close to winning! I wanted to win~” The man complained again.   
  
“Papa’s acting like a child. Mama always says: ‘You need to know how to lose’. And Theia didn’t cry when Papa won the last time. I’m more grown-up that Papa, right Kazu-nii?” Theia said proudly.   
  
“I’m not! Right, Kamenashi?” The man pouted and both Akanishis looked at the babysitter.   
  
Jin’s jaw dropped a little seeing the younger man almost half-bend looking to the side and covering his mouth with a hand. His body was shaking in an obvious attempt to keep his laugh at a quiet level. Kazuya almost managed to do so when he made a huge mistake – he looked at his employer who puffed out his cheeks in offence. Kazuya couldn’t taking anymore and start giggling uncontrollably.   
  
“So-sorry, A-akanishi-san. Theia’s r-right,” he wheezed out trying to calm down.   
  
“Ha! See, Papa? You should act like an adult, you know?”   
  
“It’s not fair~ There is something wrong with this dice. I just know it!” Jin declared.   
  
“Well… it was a bit weird. I don’t think that the laws of physics worked in this case,” Kazuya admitted truthfully, still amused by the other’s childish behavior.   
  
“Can I throw it again then?” Akanishi asked with sparkles in his eyes but pouted again when Kazuya shook his head ‘no’.   
  
“No, you can’t but maybe you and Theia-chan can continue a game while I search for some other dice?”   
  
“But what when it’s your turn Kazu-nii?” Theia asked a bit upset that the man will stop playing with them – even if just for a short moment.   
  
“How about you throw for me? I will be back quickly,” Kazuya promised the small girl before glancing at the older man. “Akanishi-san, where can I find other cubes?”   
  
“I think some are in my bedroom in the box on the bottom of my wardrobe,” the man said already concentrating again on the game.   
  
Kame stood up and went to his employer’s room. It had been the first time for him to enter that room since the day he’d started working in the mansion and it made him a bit nervous. He didn’t like to enter someone’s private room without the said room’s owner right next to him. On the first glance the bedroom seemed very normal but Kazuya didn’t look around much. He went straight to the wardrobe and opened it. Without looking at the clothes hanging on the long bar, he crouched down and searched for the box. He found it under a grey coat and with satisfaction took out a new red cube with white dots. He closed the box and was about to stand up where his attention was stolen by the coat that previously covered the box. The coat looked awfully familiar. Kazuya furrowed his eyebrows and took the piece of clothes in his hands. He opened his mouth in silent surprise when he recognized the coat.   
  
It was the same coat as the one of the pedophile!   
  
Kazuya was shocked by the discovery but it also cleared his confusion about Yamashita-san being in the park the other day. It was obvious that the other man had to come along with Akanishi-san. Nevertheless, Kame still didn’t know why both men were in the park in the first place.   
  
Kazuya fidgeted nervously. He bit his lower lip and looked at the door to the bedroom. He hesitated for a few more seconds before he started digging through the coat’s pockets. There was nothing there and Kazuya was ready to give up when his hand detected a rectangular object hidden in an inner pocket. Kazuya carefully took the thing out. He blinked seeing a small digital camera. Deciding that since he already invaded his employer’s privacy, he may as well keep going, Kazuya turned the camera on. He went to the album option and started skipping through the photos. His eyes went wide at the sight of pictures of Theia-chan playing in the park with other children.

 

*

  
Kame got out from the bedroom and closed the door quietly. Even though he saw all those pictures, he still couldn’t figure out why Akanishi was in the park in the first place? In disguise at that! It worried Kame a bit but he had a feeling that this time an honest conversation with the older man would explain everything.   
  
Kazuya went back to Theia’s room. His eyebrows furrowed when he didn’t see the girl sitting in her usual place and looked at his employer questioningly.   
  
“She went to get some snacks,” Akanishi answered with an uncertain smile.   
  
“Good, I would like to talk to you Akanishi-san.” The older looked at Kame in surprise. The younger’s voice was serious and Jin didn’t want to oppose him. “When I was looking for the dice I found a grey coat at the bottom of your wardrobe. It looked familiar so I checked its pockets and found a digital camera with Theia-chan’s pictures from the day we went to the park and ‘the pedophile’ appeared.” Kazuya narrowed his eyes at the sitting man. Jin was sweating, his body completely stiffened and he desperately tried to avoid the younger’s piercing gaze. “Could you tell me, Akanishi-san, what were you doing at the park in the middle of your work with Yamashita-san and acting like a stalker for the last few days?”   
  
Jin gulped trying to think of some excuse. He looked at Kamenashi but seeing the other’s face, he couldn’t lie anymore. He didn’t want to be on bad terms with him again. Jin sighed and mentioned for the other to sit in front of him.   
  
“…I was worried. I knew that you’re good for Theia but something in my head couldn’t trust you completely. I didn’t want to feel awkward every time we are in the same room together so my friends advised me to observe you with Theia and look for your good sides. Apparently I was so focused on everything bad in you that I forgot to register the good points. That day at the park I… I was following you but got distracted by my cute little angel and started photographing her. That’s when some woman saw me. Then I didn’t want to risk it anymore but kept checking on you with Theia at home,” the man explained feeling really awkward and actually ashamed of himself. He didn’t want to look in the other’s eyes but he got some courage and did it – he had to show how serious he was. “I am very sorry, Kamenashi-san. I know I shouldn’t do it. I… I just hope you won’t hate me for it even if once again I was a total idiot,” Jin apologized honestly.   
  
Kamenashi sat there with unreadable face. Jin flinched under the steady gaze and dropped his head in embarrassment. He was absentmindedly moving his fingers and making abstract patterns in the soft carpet. He was ready to get yelled at but, somehow, he didn’t think it would be the worst thing. What he didn’t want the most to happen, was for the younger man to start avoiding him completely. The thought about the silent treatment scared him more than anything else.   
  
Jin heard a soft sigh that escaped Kamenashi’s mouth but didn’t dare to raise his head. He waited anxiously for the younger man’s reaction. He just didn’t except that the said reaction won’t be as bad as he had thought.   
  
“Apology accepted, Akanishi-san.” Jin’s head rose so quickly that it was a wonder it didn’t fall off.   
  
“Eh? Why?”   
  
“Stupid question. You’re a father. Of course, you’re worried for her well-being. I can understand that. I don’t feel particularly comfortable with the thought of you spying on me but… I can understand your feelings, Akanishi-san.” Kazuya smiled at the older man making him open his eyes widely in surprise.   
  
“So… are we okay?” Jin asked hesitantly still not believing what he had just heard.   
  
“Yes, we are okay. But no more stalking or else I will have to let the police know when they can find their ‘pedophile’,” Kazuya said playfully. This time he managed to relax the older man a bit.   
  
“No more stalking, I promise.” Jin smiled at the other man happy that the man didn’t seem to be angry at him… much.   
  
A few minutes later that both men spend on talking about random things, Theia came back to the room with a bowl of fruits. After that they played until it was time for Theia’s nap. Jin put his daughter to sleep and went down to join Kamenashi on the couch in the living room. The younger was holding a mug of tea while one more stood on the table. With a gesture Kazuya signalized that it was for Akanishi. The man accepted the offer and happily relaxed on the comfy piece of furniture. After sitting on the floor for a few hours, his legs were cramped and stiff.   
  
The comfortable silence fell on the two men while they enjoyed their hot drinks. Jin was surprised how peaceful it and cozy he can feel in the presence of the babysitter. The other man didn’t seem to mind as well. It made Jin feel a bit ashamed again. Kamenashi forgive him but Jin still felt that he should apologize again.   
  
“I know we’re okay now but… I am sorry and… thank you. For understanding and for taking care of Theia. I saw your reaction when someone shouted about the ‘pedophile’ thing and… thank you,” Jin couldn’t explain how grateful he was. His girl was safe – he no longer had doubts about it.   
  
“There’s nothing to thank me for. It was just a natural reaction – everyone would do it,” Kazuya said with a shrug dismissing the man’s words. Jin was about to protest, knowing perfectly well that not everyone would keep a cool head in dangerous situations, when the sound of the ringtone interrupted him. Kazuya apologized to the older and answered the phone. “Kamenashi Kazuya.”   
  
The younger man listened to the other side and Jin saw that with each second his face was getting paler and paler. Finally the younger’s eyes widened and he stood up rushing to the door. Jin went after him, completely shocked by the sudden reaction. When he saw the babysitter putting on his boots he got seriously worried.   
  
“What happened?” Jin asked but the man answered something almost incoherently from which Jin only understood something about going somewhere and a request for a leave for the rest of the day. “Hey, wait!” Jin grabbed the other man’s arm when he wanted to bolt through the door. When the younger looked at him, Jin saw distress in the man’s eyes. After that the decision was very easy. “You will tell me what happened in a car while I drive you to whenever you need to be.”   
  
Kazuya nodded not even trying to decline the offer and that only confirmed Jin’s belief that something bad had to happen. Shouting some instruction to Nakagawa-san, Jin put on his own shoes, grabbed his keys and with the younger man in tow, rushed to the car not wanting to waste any more second. The matter seemed urgent.   
  
_Very urgent._


End file.
